#hotteoks

[storkmuffin]

It's during live performances that hotteoks are created and yunho knows it.

[nefiriouschemes]

[241225] Steps to OZ yunho I will never forget you.

[eehijal]

I'm watching Hotteoks crashout with interest. This is even before the MV drops.

Such a contrast with Yeosang's Legacy where it was all "gimmie gimmie" then the crashout.

But that was a good crashout? like "OMG he's an angel and OMG HE TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF! Aww Yeosang we are so proud sweetie but WTF."

This crashout is all "He's the devil, banish him, we don't want it. THERE IS A BED! WHY IS THERE A BED?! NONONOOOO"

The power that man wields over his fans should be studied, especially since all of them are refusing the MV outright.

Yunho knows what he's doing and is probably laughing with glee right now.

[handlebarstiedtothestars]

I just came across this and I am speechless

Yunho’s hands are 21cm

I just measured my own to get an idea of that in context and they’re only 16cm. I mean I do have teeny hands but 21cm!?!?!

Hotteoks how do you cope, I’m actually scared of this man’s power, this has literally given me an eye twitch

I think my hands are very slightly smaller than Hongjoong’s. Yunho what the hell

[i-wont-kiss-n-tell]

Being so new too ATEEZ, there are so many treasures I haven't found yet. And this video is SUCH a treasure. Especially for Hotteoks. But also Jongho! And Yeosang! And the interactions and everything. They are having so much fun, it's criminal. I loved that song anyhow. Mingi's missing though :/

[miggiesmain]

Oh my god I didn’t think being back here would be so much fun 🥺 atinyyy I love you all so much let’s be friends and have some pretty Hwa ✨

[beomcrds]

winterfall

[nefiriouschemes]

SLIDE TO ME (MV interpretation)

What a perfect MV i just watched. it exceeded all my expectations in ways i didn't even know i needed.

Hi hello, you dont know me but im gonna get straight into it. I've been lurking on twitter and Tumblr for a while, Yunho is my ult and one thing that has been fascinating me lately is his public image.

In an essay i wrote and you don't know about because i don't feel like posting it yet, i wrote this paragraph :

"One thing is sure, Yunho still doesn’t completely know where he wants to take his image. He’s still experimenting and learning what ATINY likes about him, and what he's comfortable doing. But if you consider the styling since “Lemon Drop,” (a bit before too) he’s been playing with way more textures and looks, edgier and darker than his usual color palette but also more fitted clothing. The “in Your Fantasy” stages also show him trying out sexier gestures. He’s constantly showcasing his hands, his neck, and that tongue-in-cheek move he does. He's also been trying to stay 'in character' more often and seriously.

When the 'slide to me' thumbnail dropped, i was on Twitter. There was so many comments and expectations about what the MV would include and it could be sum up in 'He's gonna look hot, sexy and fucked out, and absolutely no one is gonna survive.'

Or to put it in a dfferent way, after the thumbnail included Yunho suited up in a hotel room most people expected a straightforward "sexy concept": bar, wining, seduction, sensual choreo, Yunho's sexy gestures™, and Yunho fully leaning into the "grown man/dominant" image fans have been constantly fantasizing about in recent months.

Some even considered the inclusion of a female partner, "What if he makes out with a woman ?' (i could write paragraphs on that alone)

The MV gave people exactly what they wanted (except the female partner what ?). But with a twist.

The MV starts with Yunho in a hotel lobby. He's about to take the elevator to a random hotel room, but before he does he removes his jacket and look straight into the camera. When he does get into the elevator, there is another scene where he looks down on us, rolling his eyes immediately after.

Those 2 scenes set up the mood for everything that is about to follow. The entire music video Yunho looks irritated, tired, upset ? He performs seduction just as expected, he dances sensually, he does all the sexy gestures™, he pulls on his tie, bites his lips, even implies the aftermath of a sexual altercation. But it is all Hollow.

There is no pleasure in his gestures. He is alone (?) for a majority of the music video. He is wearing a business attire (3 piece suit + watch) for what's suposed to be an intimate moment. When he rides the elevator back down he is impatient. He taps his finger and fidgets on the button of his suit. The video ends with him submerging himself under water. When he's on the couch alone he looks disappointed ? angry ? contemplative ?

It's a stark contradiction from everything everyone expected from the Music video.

Chapter 2 : The audience POV

What's moreover fascinating about the music video is that we, as the audience, are not a passive consumer of it. We're very much a character in the music video, in a very voyeuristic way, it's also unclear if we are wanted or no. Yunho stares at the camera during the entirety of the MV, when he's performing he is performing for us, the audience as a character. We are his secret lover.

"Shall we dance ?" When you look at the camera work, during the part where he's dancing alone in the hotel room —the cuts, the switching between his dancing and close ups of his body while on the couch— dare i say it mirrors the camera work of implicit sex scenes we see on TV. The next scene being basically the morning after (yunho on a bed in a simple robe) does not help dismiss this interpretation either.

My first impression of the MV and i'm gonna be very honest, was that it felt as if Yunho is an escort that was hired to pleasure his partner, or like in a more polite way to service them for the night. The entire interaction felt very transactional, from the choice of the hotel room, to his outfit, to how impersonal he feels. In the elevator, before he gets into the hotel room yh takes a deep sight, he's here to do his job and then he leaves.

chapter 3 : Fanservice. yes I am the fan and yes i am being serviced.

There is something incredibly ironic about Yunho. I touched on it in the essay i refuse to post for reasons and yesterday on a pv twitter rant because twitter people randomly pissed me off. when do they not ?

People have a hard time wrapping their head around yunho. 'Yunho specifically exists in a way that highlights how perception works, how someone can do everything right, be really well loved and still quietly overlooked.'

The way people talk about yunho at times is reminiscent of the way people talk about fictional characters. And listen we all have different perceptions of the boys, none of us really know or understand what these people stand for, including me. This is also not me shutting down horny posting or whatever shipping thing people are into. But yunho more than the others often get talked about as if he's placeholder for fans's y/n fantasies. It's like people can't see yunho as anything but the hot kdrama lead, the ideal boyfriend, the 'guy you wanna marry', the secretly freaky mean dom NEW .

And most importantly Yunho knows. He is well aware of everything his fans like about him. It's where his wide range of sexy gestures™ come from. He knows fans go crazy for his hands and neck, he knows fans want him to play a psychopath role, he knows fans love it when he's angry or when he looks pissed. He also knows fans love calling him a cute puppy.

He knows and he wants us to know that he knows.

Unlike the others he never even bothers hiding it. He brings it up willingly everytime. There is also multiple instances of him having a direct conversation about it on live. "Do you like it when i do this ? Am i doing too much of that ? should i tone this down ? Do you think i'm X Y Z ?" (example)

His image is constantly shaped by fan's demands and is more relational than the other members. It's process is also a tad more transparent, it's negotiation happening in real time.

"Honestly whatever you want i can do it all for you." "I'll make you crave me more, I can feel the thirst in your eyes"

Chapter 3 : the bathtub scene.

Before that i want to bring up this particular scene where Yunho, after his torrid one night stand, is suiting up again and fixing his tie in front of a mirror. When he leaves his reflection stays, watching him exit the frame.

I am not korean so i don't now if it does have a different cultural significance in korea. But on a more international landscape, mirrors tends to represent identity, a fractured mirrors often means a fractured identity. A reflection watching you leave is a comment on the performance vs the self.

It is unclear if the reflection is the self or the performer, however what it is either way is a pause and an aknowledgment of performance.

Yunho takes the elevator down impatiently only to be met with another performace, this time in a hotel lobby with other dancers. It's kind of eerie, watching it i expected him to leave the performance behind in the hotel room but instead it finds him again in a different space. He just centers himself and picks the choreo back up.

It creates the sense that no matter where he goes, the performance self follows, or i guess more accurately, precedes him ? The lobby and the corridors, unlike the hotel room, are public spaces. They're also spaces people pass through/transitory, not meant for lingering. This scene plays with the nature of idol culture and fan expectation. The moment Yunho appears, the performance starts, it doesn’t matter where or how.

The next scene is the one where he's staring at a bathtub. His expression is blank, almost dissociative. He doesn't have a tie. Why doesn't he have a tie ?

Why are the curtains blue ? Well it's because every single decision made in a set has been made consciously (debatable) by someone. Every (also debatable) single detail gets discussed and storyboarded, doule and triple checked by a whole team of people before being offered to you as the audience.

Why isn't Yunho in a tie ? i have no idea its 2am, i should be in my bed instead of hyperfixating on an essay about somebody i do not know. IDK IT'S ART. You know what ? He's been playing with that damn tie the entire MV it's was bound to be taken off at some point anyway, and it happened... off screen ?

We as the audience, are denied the satisfaction of seeing him remove his tie. We only get to see the aftermath. Thing is, he is still fully dressed just with no tie.

Sometimes what is NOT shown is just as important as what IS shown.

The act of removing the tie on screen, of undressing i feel would have taken away from the video, it would have been contradictory to the message of the mv so far.

Everything about Slide to Me is built on tension, not the release of desire, but the management of it, it’s about the exhaustion of seduction. The tie is both a literal prop and a metaphorical leash, a representation of discipline, control, professionalism. In that context, any visible act of undressing (like removing the tie) would’ve shifted the tone toward invitation, vulnerability. It would have also been playing into the very gaze the video critiques.

The bathtube !

The scene where he's staring as the water droplets dip down his fingers before looking at the audience again. He keeps breaking the fourth wall !!! its interesting and unusal ?

Water or in this case a bath filled with water could be a continuation of the symbolism from the reflection in the mirror. But unlike mirrors it moves, ripples, and distorts. The water acts as a fluid, dynamic reflection. By playing with it Yunho is in a way engaging with his own reflection, observing and scrutinizing it. It's a moment of self reflection awareness.

The MV ends with Yunho still fully clothed submerging himself in the bathtub. It is hard to tell if this is an act of control or surrender, it could be both. He’s in the water, but the suit anchors him in his identity and image. It could be a willingness to confront or merge with his inner or performer self, it could be a way to pause all the noise around him. It could even be an acknowledgment of impermanence and the fluidity of self, the idea that identity, image, and audience perception are always shifting.

It's complicated. It's also up to interpretation. My perception of the MV remains just one of many. but i do admire the way he handled it's artistic direction. I cannot wait for the production behind to know more about the entire process !!

Before i end this there's one more scene that caught my attention. It's a split second scene where the elevator is about to close down on the audience and Yunho (nonchalently) stops it at the very last minute. The scene is right after he performs in the hotel lobby and corridor and a bit before the bathtub scene.

Performance vs self

I've seen other interpretations of the MV. I'm trying to avoid twitter as much as i can rn but sometimes posts pop up. A reoccurent one is that the music video is about desire, the exhaution of one night stands, of shallow intimacy. To which i respond : Valid but personally i see it as an incomplete take.

It would stand 100% on its own if it wasn't for how much the video implicates the viewer. Every look Yunho gives to the camera, every smirk, every sensual gesture he makes, every choreographed irritation, are not directed toward an imagined lover, but toward you (the audience).

In film theory, the camera gaze is often treated as a structure of power : whoever holds the gaze has control, whoever is gazed upon becomes an object. Yunho breaks that script by gazing right back at you, therefore aware of the structure.

When he stops the doors from closing and looks at the camera, he’s literally preventing the gaze from leaving. For one instant, he controls whether the encounter continues. But it is only an instant.

Perhaps that moment is to show us that Yunho is not just a man trapped in a seduction or performance cycle; he’s also one of its directors. Technically and funny enough he did give the fans everything they wanted and expected after all, it is just all devoid of passion. So that while he is performing in the music video, he remains unreachable ; You canot possess him through this performance, you can only observe him observing you.

or something idk

There is more points i could make, more things i can expand on but it is hard to go throught every single thing so I'll just end this meta read with an emphasis on the lines he chose to sing while staring directly at the camera :

Take it slow 네 눈에 담긴 갈증을 다 느껴 난 (I can feel the thirst reflected in your eyes) Shall we dance ? 아무렇지도 않게 (Without a care) Don't stop 밤새 가득히 repeat (Overflowing all night long, repeat) 짙은 향기 속 (surrounded by the deep fragrance)

Thank you for your time ! if you have any question or want to discuss more feel free to send an ask !