chcrryade

[chcrryade]

WIP wednesday more like snippet saturday 🧏‍♂️

@capeise PLEASEE JEBALLL😭😭😭 ONE SENTENCE😭 ONE WORD😭 ANYTHING😭😭

WIP WED!!!!!

🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️

One thing Harris had learned about Zac was that he was incredibly strong willed. He wasn't unflappable, but it took a lot to break him. That was why he wasn't surprised that Zac waited until the end of the school day, when the hallways were empty, to corner him. If anything he'd been expecting it.

“Give me my phone."

Harris took a moment to compose himself, manic glee making his skin tingle. He loved when pieces of a puzzle fell into place.

He turned, barely able to stop himself from smirking. “Why would I have your phone?"

[chcrryade]

⠀⠀˚⠀WILL IT EVER MAKE SENSE TO ME?⠀ ┉ ┉ ⠀It’s a shock even to Yijun himself. When the hell was he ever the type to stick up for him?

INCLUDING ⁺⠀cherryade ensemble, jaguar staff. TIMESTAMP ⁺⠀PRACTICE ROOM, 20 DECEMBER 2024. WARNINGS ⁺⠀injury, swearing, slight allusion to alcoholism. WORD COUNT ⁺⠀2K NOTE ⁺⠀Errrmmmmm

The air in the practice room was frigid-cold. Even in the winter, Miryung was still insistent on keeping the AC turned all the way up, slapping any wandering hands that tried to touch it away with a glare. ‘It keeps me focused,’ was her excuse every time, and Yijun didn’t really think that was true. He thought she just liked seeing them all shivering, and miserable, and cold. A sudden movement caught his eye, and he turned just in time to watch Doyeon run his palms up his forearms in a valiant (but pointless) attempt to warm himself up. The rest were similarly trying to keep comfortable during the short rest break Miryung had allowed them after watching them ‘stumble over themselves like babies’ had apparently pissed her off so much she’d left to grab a drink. Minhui was trying to get Hasun to do jumping jacks and failing, Jalen was sitting underneath his coat with his knees pulled to his chest and Haeil leaning against him. Jaehee was.. In shorts and a t-shirt. For some reason. Yijun shot the side of his face an incredulous look, and it seemed to burn into him so much that he turned to furrow his eyebrows at him in nonverbal reply. What?

Yijun said nothing. Just dragged his eyes up and down his choice of attire once more before he turned on his heel to go and join in on annoying Hasun, ignoring the scoff that echoed off of the walls behind him.

“C’mon, Hasunnie! It’ll get the blood pumping. You’ll be like a little toasted marshmallow over an open fire in no time. Really.”

Minhui’s grin was wide, was eager, and Hasun’s nose scrunched up as he refused for the tenth time. “If it gets you so warm, then why don’t you do it?”

“Me?” The dancer pointed at himself before waving the goading question away, turning his hand to point it in Yijun’s direction. “Ah, I can’t. My, uh.. My leg! It hurts real bad right now. Yijun-hyung will show you how it’s done, instead.”

He raised an eyebrow at the obvious lie. Maybe he should’ve gone over to hang around Doyeon. He was saved from the jumping jacks by Miryung bursting through the door again, soft drink in hand—obnoxiously yellow in colour, the kind that Hyeonmin liked best. The thought of him made Yijun frown. He’d call him afterwards, complain about how he wouldn’t be able to move for so long that Hyeonmin would sigh his little sigh and offer to come over. 

“Alright, let’s try this again,” she commanded, ponytail swinging as she went to restart the music and pointed to their places behind her. “If you get this bit right, you can go home early. I’m meant to be grabbing dinner with Sebin-ah anyway.”

They all did as told, lining up and waiting for the song to start. He still hated it, but it’d gotten a little less grating over the weeks they’d been practicing. With large emphasis on the little. He still winced as the opening notes hit his ears, but he followed Miryung’s movements as best he could anyway. Her promise of letting them off early was a motivator for all of them, it seemed, because there was a lot less ‘stumbling over themselves’ this time around. He felt sort of.. Airy, but he didn’t really know why. Maybe he was just glad he’d get to go home. Go home. Call Hyeonmin. Steal some of whatever Jalen would undoubtedly order in. He trusted himself enough to close his eyes for a second to imagine it. 

They snapped right back open again when he heard the scream.

Well. It wasn’t a scream, not really. They weren’t in a horror movie. But it sort of felt like they were, when he blinked and Jaehee was on the floor, face screwed up in agony, grasping at his shin. Haeil was frozen still right next to him, hands stuck in midair like he wanted to help, but he didn’t know how. 

“What—what the fuck?” Miryung was first to speak, turning on her heel and coming to crouch down beside him, touch cautious as he hissed at the contact. The song was still playing. Hasun was pale, was wide-eyed, looked like he’d seen something like this before. Doyeon grabbed his hand, and Yijun didn’t have time to wonder why they both looked like they’d been hit upside the head with a bad case of déjà vu. Jaehee fought back a groan, and looked up to Haeil. Eyes venomous, verging on teary, he spat out his next words through gritted teeth.

“Did you just fucking push me?”

And if the fall had sounded a little softer, if the bruising and the swelling that was starting to show under the fluorescent lights of the practice room had looked a little less serious, sticking out on his bare skin like a streak of ink on a plain white canvas, then maybe Yijun would’ve laughed. Maybe he would’ve clapped Haeil round the shoulder, congratulating him for a job well done. But it hadn’t. It didn’t. Yijun just stared, quiet as all of them were. Did you just fucking push me?

“What?”

Haeil was the first to speak. He took a step back, hand raising to rake through his hair. His laugh sounded uncertain, uncomfortable, and he looked around at the rest as if trying to get someone to agree with a question he hadn’t asked. When given nothing in return, he turned back to Jaehee.

“Jaehee.. What? No. No, I didn’t—why would I—? Are.. Are you serious?”

Miryung cut them both off before another answer could come. “I’m gonna go get someone. Call Jaeyoung, one of you.”

She was gone as fast as she’d left the first time around, hurried steps echoing. Minhui reached for his phone, edging off to the side. Jalen had come up beside Haeil, Doyeon was kneeling beside Jaehee in Miryung’s place. Yijun was still. Was silent.

“Yes, I’m serious. I felt it.” He wasn’t backing down, as stubborn as he always was, always had been. Haeil shook his head almost wildly.

“I’m serious, too! I just got—dizzy, for a second, I didn’t mean to grab onto you like that. I didn’t want you to fall.”

His hands were curled into fists so tight his knuckles were pale. Jalen pried one of them open, smoothed a thumb down the indents. Jaehee didn’t look convinced. “Dizzy. Right.”

The scepticism was loaded. Their leader smoothed a palm over Jaehee’s shin, and stood back up again.

“Are you—��� Doyeon looked uncomfortable even suggesting it, but he carried on anyway. “Have you been drinking?”

Jalen was the first to start forward after that, face screwed up in disgust. “Did you seriously just ask that? What the fuck?”

“It’s not like it came out of nowhere.” And he wondered what Jaehee looked like, watching Yijun step up to defend him. He didn’t let himself look down, catch the expression on his face. He didn’t really believe he’d been pushed, he was just.. Trying to get a little bit of fun out of this. “Not like he tries to hide it, either.”

The disbelief and confusion had melted into irritation by now. In the line of his jaw, the scoff that left his lips. “I haven’t been drinking. And I can’t pull a breathalyser out of my ass, so you’ll just have to trust me.”

Yijun opened his mouth to retort, but Minhui had re-entered the fray by then, arm linked loosely with Hasun’s, a look in his eyes that was far from the hardly-serious one that had always seemed to dance in them before. “Guys. You’re not really fighting now, are you? God, this is so.. You’re so fucked.”

He couldn’t help the grin that spread on his face, even at the insult. They were stopped from arguing further by the door slamming open, three figures in the entrance. Miryung, Jaeyoung, Seungdae.

Their manager hung back while the other two pressed forward, and loosened the yellow tie at his throat. “You have the shittiest timing.”

“I didn’t want this,” Jaehee bit back, shoulders hunched, the fight seemingly having left him and exhaustion setting in. The bruising had gotten worse. Seungdae came to a stop in front of him, eyes flicking down and then drifting back up again.

“And.. What would ‘this’ be, exactly?”

Like it wasn’t obvious. Or at least easy to assume. He didn’t really know what possessed him in that moment to lash out like a child, grin falling as quick as it had appeared in the first place. Maybe Jaehee’s sudden exhaustion was catching up to him, too. It looked to be creeping up on all of them, Doyeon pushing the heels of his palms into his eyes and Jalen keeping a hand around Haeil’s wrist as he slumped into himself, facing the floor. Whatever it was, it sharpened into the incredulous question that left his mouth—maybe a little too rude for the person that put him there to start with, sure, but it got the point across quick enough for him not to care.

“Uh, his fucking leg?”

Seungdae’s face paled as he looked at it longer, mouth opening and closing again. For the first time since Yijun had met him all those years ago, he looked at a loss for words.

“Ah, well.. Yes. That’s.. That’s not—not ideal.”

He fell quiet again after that. Yijun just wanted to go home, as he had before any of this had begun. Go home. Call Hyeonmin. He knew he’d pissed off Jalen, so food was off the table, but that didn’t matter. Maybe he’d go out instead of Hyeonmin coming to him.

Jaeyoung seemed to have the same idea. Stepping forward, he gestured short and sharp, pointing to them and then the door. “Come on, then. Jaehee’s gonna be fine. He’ll.. There’s help coming. I think. So unless someone else has a broken leg they’re keeping hush, get out and get in the car.”

Hasun needed no more encouragement, practically out the door before Jaeyoung could finish his sentence with Minhui not far behind him. Jalen started out but stopped when Haeil didn’t move.

“I really am sorry. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t want this, either.”

He didn’t wait for a reply, and he wasn’t given one. They left, too. Yijun started his walk towards the door, and heard Doyeon as he went.

“I’ll stay. I can’t just.. Leave him, like this.”

He couldn’t see Jaeyoung’s shrug, but the dismissal was obvious anyway. “Your funeral. Or rather—er. Nevermind.”

Footsteps crept up behind him, and as he reached the door, Yijun turned one last time. Jaehee was looking straight at him, still in his stupid t-shirt and shorts, leg sprawled out before him. He was reminded of why he’d started to hate him in the first place, for a moment. 

“Take all the time you need to get better, Jaehee-yah,” he called back, a last verge of spite crawling up and out of his throat just to try and make a point. Don’t expect this again. You won’t get this again. “I doubt anyone’ll miss you that much.”

And just like Haeil before him, he didn’t stick around to hear whatever crude insult would be thrown back at him for it. Jaeyoung snickered as he shut the door behind them, as he closed off the night they’d just had. He could almost forget about it.

“Ever a dick.”

Yijun shook his head. Tried to shake the evening off with it. It didn’t quite work, the scream and the bruising and the arguing still too fresh to completely brush off. Whatever. All in due time. “Hardly.”

He didn’t know what this meant for them. The album. Anything. He tried to tell himself he didn’t care about that, too. That didn’t work, either. 

Go home. Call Hyeonmin. He repeated it in his head until he reached the car, slumping into the passenger seat and closing his eyes. Leaving Jaehee behind, Doyeon behind, and probably their career along with it. He didn’t care. It was fine. 

He didn’t really know how much longer he could tell himself that before he stopped believing it.

[chcrryade]

EXTRA; 03/01/2025—WHAT THEY DIDN’T TELL YOU.

A select collection of extra transcripts and emails related to CHERRYADE’s intended third full album ‘BROKEN GLASS’ and the subsequent leak via Hwan Junil (known most commonly online for his JAGUAR-related blog, under the username justbcmb).

PHONE CALL TRANSCRIPT. 20/12/2024.

[WORRIED, UNSURE,]  “Did you hear?”

⠀⠀(A LITTLE CALMER, BUT CLEARLY STILL KNOCKED OFF GUARD,)  “Of course I did. Jaeyoung swung by straight after. How the fuck.. What d’you think’s gonna happen?”

[HE’S CHOPPY, STOPPING AND STARTING,]  “I don’t—I don’t know. I have no idea. Maybe they’ll just.. Leave him out? It’s happened with other groups—happened with Minhui’s old group, even if what happened to that guy was nothing like this. And then he’ll just.. He’ll just come back after. Right? I don’t know. I just don’t want it to end up like..”

⠀⠀(KNOWING,)  “Like last time.”

[ALMOST THANKFUL HE DIDN’T HAVE TO SAY IT HIMSELF,]  “Yeah. Yeah. Not like last time. Anything but that. God, ‘Yun was.. They all were, at least a little—it was awful.”

⠀⠀“Do you want me to be honest?”

[A PAUSE. RELUCTANTLY,]  “You might as well.”

⠀⠀“We don’t know how bad it is, yet. He could be fine in a couple months. But even then.. If the shit Jaeyoung was telling me is true? They’re gonna hate each other for a few more. And, sure, they’ve been on rough terms during comeback season before, but it’s just like you said—it’s never been like this. At this point they might as well just start dishing out the units and solos, because I don’t know how else they’re gonna avoid the time stretching out like it did last time.”

[SIGHING, LONG AND LOUD. A MUFFLED SOUND—LIKE HE’S RUNNING HIS HAND THROUGH HIS HAIR, HARD,]  “This is so fucked, man.”

⠀⠀(A LAUGH, ALTHOUGH HUMOURLESS,)  “You’re telling me.”

“I mean, even Yijun was freaking out a little. This is just—I don’t know. I think I’d rather have a rerun of the reunion fight over this.”

⠀⠀“At least that was entertaining.”

[A FEW MOMENTS PASS—AN ATTEMPT AT TAKING IN WHAT’S JUST HAPPENED.]

⠀⠀“You wanna crash tonight?”

[A FLURRY OF MOVEMENT—FOOTSTEPS, KEYS JANGLING, AN EXHALE OF SOMETHING LIKE RELIEF,]  “Already on my way.”

[THEY SHARE A LAUGH—A REAL ONE, THIS TIME. THE CALL DROPS.]

RE: BG—A (Sad!) Update. Sender  Ae Seungdae Recipients  JAGUAR STAFF <staff@jaguar.co.kr> Date  22nd December, 2024.  08:21 PM

I’m sure you all know (via witnessing the event yourself, or word of mouth) what’s happened to Jaehee by now. My heart goes out to him! Jaeyoung—make sure to send him a box of chocolates on my behalf. Anyway, I think it’s best we hold off on Broken Glass for now. Would it really hurt to push it back a little longer? It’s not like the songs are going anywhere. They’ll be back and better by.. Whenever they’re back and better. The time will give the others a chance to cool off as well.

With love from your favourite CEO, Ae Seungdae.

RE: ???? Sender  Son Sebin Recipients  Seol Daejin <seoldaejin@jaguar.co.kr>  Kwak Joosun <kwkjoosun@jaguar.co.kr> Date  22nd December, 2024.  08:25 PM

What the hell happened to Jaehee?

RE: RE: ???? Sender  Kwak Joosun Recipients  Son Sebin <ssebin@jaguar.co.kr>  Seol Daejin <seoldaejin@jaguar.co.kr> Date  22nd December, 2024.  08:27 PM

Did you seriously just ask me that over email?

RE: Found someone! Sender  Bom Kyuri Recipients  Doh Sungki <dohngki@jaguar.co.kr> Date  25th December, 2024.  11:37 AM

Will he do? Seems pretty interested in keeping up with us—been around for a while, too. I’m still not entirely sure how you intend to make this work, but it’s close enough to what you asked for. Take it or leave it!

Sending smiles, Bom Kyuri.

RE: RE: Found someone! Sender  Doh Sungki Recipients  Bom Kyuri <bkyurim@jaguar.co.kr> Date  25th December, 2024.  11:45 AM

Merry Christmas to you, too. He’ll do fine—perfect, actually. I think he looks familiar. Did he used to hang around with Yoonhae, or am I going crazy? Anyway, thanks. I’ll buy you a coffee, or something.

And also, what’s with that send-off? Sungki.

RE: HJI—update! Sender  Bom Kyuri Recipients  Doh Sungki <dohngki@jaguar.co.kr> Date  26th December, 2024.  01:04 PM

He did used to hang around with Yoonhae, you’re right! I’ve just found some old pictures. Only in his trainee and earlier years, though—there’s nothing past 2015. Maybe they fought. But whatever the case, he should still work fine. Do as you will, it’s all on you from here. I still can’t really believe you’re actually wanting to do this at all. And I think I’ll pass on that coffee.

Sending less smiles, Bom Kyuri.

RE: RE: HJI—update! Sender  Doh Sungki Recipients  Bom Kyuri <bkyurim@jaguar.co.kr> Date  26th December, 2024.  11:52 PM

I knew it. Thanks again, he really will work well. This actually feels pretty exciting. I’ll get it done by the end of the month, and hopefully he’ll follow suit—and from there it might snowball, which I guess is the intended effect.. Are you sure you don’t want a treat on me? 

I see what you did there. Message received. Sungki.

PHONE CALL TRANSCRIPT. 30/12/2024.

⠀⠀“Hello?”

[AN UNSURE PAUSE.]  “Uh, hello? Who is this? How did you get my number?”

⠀⠀(UNAFFECTED,)  “Friend of a friend. You’re Hwan Junil, right? The one who runs that blog?”

[HE’S EVEN MORE CONFUSED, NOW. A LITTLE GUARDED,]  “Sure. Why do you wanna know? And what friend are you even talking about? What’s your name?”

⠀⠀“Does it really matter that much to you?”

[ALMOST DUMBFOUNDED,]  “It does if you call me up out of nowhere. And you know my name. Are you gonna try and tell me I owe your boss some money? And then beat me up?”

⠀⠀“You’ve been watching too many dramas. ⠀⠀(TRYING FOR CONVINCING,)  I have something I think you might want! Or at least want to hear about.”

“Like what?”

⠀⠀“Your boy group, obviously. Cherryade.”

[DISBELIEVING,]  “Dude, just write into the blog if you apparently already know about it. Seriously, how did you get my number?”

⠀⠀(BORDERING ON EXASPERATED,)  “I just did! Can you just hear me out?”

[A PAUSE, AS IF HE’S CONSIDERING.]

[AFTER A SIGH, COMMITTING TO THE ABSURDITY,]  “Fine. Spill it. But don’t say a dating scandal, or I’ll just hang up right now.”

⠀⠀“God, finally. It’s about their third album. They’re scrapping it—completely. Everything was pretty much lined up, but then something went wrong, and now it’s all gone to shit. It was meant to come out next month, but that’s not happening now. The tracks were all mostly mastered, the video was about halfway done, the teasers just about ready to drop.. But it’s just being tossed out.”

[A SCOFF,]  “You’re lying.”

[SILENCE. A BEAT. ANOTHER.]

“What, really? How do you know?”

⠀⠀(ALMOST A SMILE IN HIS VOICE,)  “You won’t believe me.”

“I’m not really sure I believe any of it. One more lie won’t hurt.”

⠀⠀“I work at Jaguar.”

“Fuck off.”

⠀⠀“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me. But I’m being honest.”

[AS IF HE’S CHOOSING HIS WORDS CAREFULLY,]  “Let’s just—say I do believe you. What am I meant to do with this? I can’t just say ‘oh, a friend of a friend told me the boys’ album got scrapped.’ Then I’d be the one getting stoned. So.. What now?”

⠀⠀(AFFRONTED,)  “I have proof, obviously!”

[TAKEN ABACK,]  “For real?”

⠀⠀“I wouldn’t just say all that shit just to not back it up, are you crazy?”

“Dude. I don’t know you.”

⠀⠀“That’s alright. You don’t need to. But I am telling the truth, and I can walk the talk. It’d take me a couple hours, but I can get everything I just told you about up.”

[A PAUSE.]  “..And then what?”

⠀⠀“Uh, and then you tell your friends, obviously? Your blog? Or keep it to yourself, I can always find someone else. But you really gotta tell someone about this. Anyone. I think the reason why they scrapped it.. I don’t know the whole story, but it isn’t great.”

[HE’S SLOWLY COMING AROUND,]  “You’re gonna send it to me?”

⠀⠀(HALF A LAUGH,)  “No, I’m hanging up. Yes, I’ll send it all. The music. The moodboards. There’s notes they kept on most of it somewhere in there, I think. Hell, I could probably dig up a few emails, too. All in your inbox by, say, tomorrow evening at the latest.”

[IS THIS JUST THE WEIRDEST SCAM CALL OF HIS LIFE? FULLY PLAYING ALONG NOW,]  “Well, then.. I guess I’ll take it.”

⠀⠀(MATTER-OF-FACT,)  “Of course you are. Anyone would.”

“Uh, thanks. I don’t need to pay or anything, right?”

⠀⠀“Well, I wouldn’t be opposed. But that’d just get messy. It’s all on the house.”

[HE’S NEVER BEEN ONE TO PASS UP ON AN OPPORTUNITY.]  “I’ll get it up as soon as I can.”

⠀⠀(SATISFIED,)  “Good.”

[THE LINE GOES DEAD.]

[LEFT STARING AT HIS PHONE SCREEN, RELIVING IT FOR A MOMENT,]  “What the fuck?”

[chcrryade]

posted by justbcmb⠀⠀⸻⠀⠀January 3rd, 2O25.

[PICTURED: ‘TRACK 05’—LEFT, YIJUN, GOGO, & HASUN—RIGHT]. This isn’t exactly how I was planning to come back, but when an opportunity falls into my lap, I’m not one to just turn away. Fans are pretty used to the fairly large gaps between CHERRYADE comebacks by now, even if they aren’t particularly happy with it, and so I’m proud to announce that their third full album (and sixth release overall) ‘BROKEN GLASS’ is now out—only, not really. An individual from JAGUAR got in touch recently (which, woah? Scary to think they keep up with people like me..) and gave me a rundown that read something along the lines of this: preparations for the album (which was slated to release later this month) have abruptly stopped, and they’re not putting it out at all, now. They didn’t tell me why, but they did dump a load of files into my inbox and called it a day. So I guess I’m a leaker now. Not that anyone apart from the people that read this will know about it at all. Let’s keep it a secret.

I might not be any sort of music critic, but I am kind of a JAGUAR aficionado. As in, I’ve been here a while. I have a photo with JUST4U from when I was thirteen and attending their debut showcase to prove it. I’m not about to analyse how they layered which vocals over what drum beats, but I can at least make some general comments about my thoughts on the tracks as a whole and how I think people would’ve taken ‘BROKEN GLASS’ if it was actually released to the public later this month as was originally intended. I’ll add in a few of the notes that were included on each track, too—an insight into what the members (and producers, I’m sure) themselves thought of them. The notes in question were colour-coded for convenience (and a little bit of fun), but that’s about it. Not that I don’t think it’s a little obvious as to who’s saying what in some places. Email addresses were also removed, as well as any names within the emails themselves giving clues as to who sent or received them—to save their own skin or grant the members & staff a little more privacy, I’m not sure. Maybe one of them has an embarrassing username they can’t change. But anyway—so it begins.

Named ‘HORRIBLE’ in its MP3 format, but also referred to as ‘TRACK01,’ ‘STICKER,’ and ‘THE FLUTE SONG’ in various notes and emails surrounding it, the first of nine tracks is a wild ride from start to finish. It sets the tone as a clear breakaway from the mainly safe-sounding (in most cases, although of course there’s a few that stick out here and there) sound they’ve been sticking with throughout their career, and opens the door (or it would have, at least) to what the rest of the album entails. Even if it’s.. Different, it still strikes me as distinctly them. Which is always the intention for any music group, I think—to keep that golden thread running through everything, to keep that brand identity that makes the people come back time and time again. Not that they can come back to this, at least not officially, but I like to think there would’ve been SODA BOMBS out there defending this track with their lives, however many death threats they had to make or IP addresses they had to leak to do it. The seven themselves didn’t seem all that taken with it, if the name of the file itself wasn’t any indication, but there were a couple that it appeared to grow on over time. For a title track (because, really, what else could it be?), I think it would’ve come bursting out the gate in an explosion of colour that everyone surely expects of them by now—loud and unforgiving, bright and headache-inducing. Maybe they’d give Gogo a leopard to stroke in the MV, or something. We can only imagine.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK01:’ ‘STICKER.’ DATED FROM 05/08/24—17/09/24.

I hate this. I hate this so much. I’m not singing this. Tough shit. Put your back into it! Open that diaphragm!

that flute sounds better than jaehee wow. never an old joke with you.

i like it i dont care!!!!!!!!!! That makes one of us.

OK, I’ve had enough. It’s done. If anyone writes anything else about this ever again I’m gonna do something drastic. Kiss goodbye to your watermelon ice, or whatever.

EMAILS EXCHANGED BETWEEN.. WELL, I DON’T KNOW. 13/08/24 & 15/08/24.

⠀⠀RE: The Flute Song. Please. Take me off of it. Scrub my name off of it completely. I’ll tell the fans I was really sick or something. I’ll deal with all the hate trains myself if you want. Maybe there won’t even be any hate trains because nobody likes it and they’ll be happy I wasn’t on it. Who knows. Regards, ███.

⠀⠀RE: To All Whom It May Concern. You’re all singing the song! With love from your favourite ██, ████.

The second out of the nine given to me is a lot more.. Palatable? Would that be the word for it? In other words, it’s the classic CHERRYADE sound. Electronic, easily danceable, reminiscent of what we’ve heard in the past—and, most importantly of all, with far less flute. Some would argue it’s the far better choice for a title track than ‘STICKER,’ and to that I’ll say.. Nothing. I like the first track, personally, and I think making a statement is better at catching people’s attention (good or bad—because, as is surely known inside and out by every person working under JAGUAR, “all publicity is good publicity”) than something that, to put it plainly, they feel like they’ve heard somewhere, somehow, before. It’s still good, and I like it a lot, but I think it works best where it is. Like something you’ve known for a while coming to greet you after the rollercoaster ride of the opener. But even if it’s semi-familiar, the catchy chorus still distances itself a little from all that’s come in the past, and the ever-moving instrumental keeps the pace that ‘STICKER’ set (although, again, while the former was unforgiving, relentless, forcing you to keep it on until it stopped, this is more of a steady ride that you could probably jump out of with minor injuries). Referred to otherwise as ‘BUMP&LOVE,’ the reception from the members was pretty much positive across the board, with only a few notes being made (and even they were complimentary).

NOTES ON ‘TRACK02:’ ‘BUMP&LOVE.’ DATED FROM 07/07/2024.

five stars for my favourite ★★★ that’s three stars thank you

Alas, in case you thought ‘TRACK02’ would be leading the return into safer territory, ‘TRACK03’—otherwise referred to as ‘SCARED’ or ‘MIX FROM HELL’—flips that notion on its head from the opening notes. It's tinny, and, uh.. Wobbly? Like the sound laminated paper makes when you wave it around. I think that’s the best way to describe the sound ever-present in the background. But hey, at least it’s not a flute (sorry, I’ll stop with that now). Just like ‘STICKER’ did, ‘TRACK03’ makes it clear that this new sound, this new direction, is (or, would be) here to stay—for this album, at least, because if the people made it clear that if this type of sound stayed, they wouldn’t be, then I’m sure JAGUAR would’ve been quick to change their tune. Or maybe not, actually? God only knows what goes on in the heads of both the Ae Seungdae and his number one yes-man Oh Jitae. Maybe they would’ve decided that they didn’t care what the public thought, and carried CHERRYADE’s career into a noisy end. Again, we can only speculate. The track is almost taunting in its lyricism, demanding listeners to ‘tell me why you really scared now’ all while that relentless backing track plays on, and on, and on. It disappears momentarily in places, but what replaces it is a just-as-strange chiming. Still, I like it. The members seemed to think the same thing, or maybe they just didn’t bother writing down how much they hated it after what they’d expressed their abject hatred of ‘TRACK01’ and were forced to sing it anyway. The producers (Daejin and Joosun) were the ones who seemed to be duking it out for this one, going back-and-forth continually about the track until their discourse abruptly stopped. Perhaps they fought it out hand-to-hand.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK03:’ ‘SCARED.’ DATED FROM 09/08/24—13/09/24.

Who the hell mixed this. You liked it yesterday??! People change.

Beat so bad I started pinching myself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Oh my god. We get it.

Had to come back and check. But no.. It’s really still here. SHUT UP!!!!!

EMAILS EXCHANGED BETWEEN.. I STILL DON’T KNOW. 16/09/24.

⠀⠀RE: Respectfully—are we for real? Who let him make that? And you seriously greenlit it? When we get driven into homelessness, I hope you know it’s all your fault. And his. Especially his. The last one grew on me, I could handle it, but this is something else.

⠀⠀RE: RE: Respectfully—are we for real? I mean, it’s not like you’re singing it. Just let him have his fun. I think you’ll live.

‘TRACK04,’ also called ‘ROMEO,’ is sort of a doozy. The instrumental is still a little different from the albums and mini-albums of the past, but it falls in line with ‘BUMP&LOVE’ in that it’s not too out there. It’s positively yearning in its lyricism, much more of an emotional track than the three it's preceded by—and that makes it stand out like a sore thumb, except it does sort of fit at the same time. A clash of the old and the new and something entirely different, ‘ROMEO’ is definitely one that I’m sure many would have liked, or at least inspired many (many) ‘who hurt you??!’ tweets from SODA BOMBS after listening. Lamenting over a lover lost, while simultaneously attempting to move past it (the repeating ‘let it all go’ throughout), I’m sure it might strike a few chords with people somewhere. This new direction was generally accepted by the members, no major qualms held over it, but there was a little bit of poking fun at whoever wrote it. Naming no names, but it’s fairly obvious who was doing the prodding, even if the defense against said prodding was believable enough for me to buy it. Again, quite a strike above in terms of what most of the other songs hold within both their instrumentals and the stories told over them, but I still like it. Every album has that one song that fits, but doesn’t at the same time. It’s good enough to look past the not-really lapse in cohesiveness—because, really, with the always-brash, ever-chaotic image that CHERRYADE have curated over the years, does being cohesive even matter?

NOTES ON ‘TRACK04:’ ‘ROMEO.’ DATED FROM 20/09/24—02/10/24.

who asked you to bring your love life into this? ? I’m not. Ever heard of telling a story?

Layer BG vocals. DY? He could hit it if he tried.

Do that stupid dance for me. LDC wasn’t even that hot in that movie.

Called by no other name other than ‘TRACK05,’ (unless you count simply ‘05,’ as it was referred to here and there when they were mentioning it in passing) this one is another stand-out from the rest—but not because it doesn’t fit with the out-there sound the rest of the album is (was) clearly culminating by now. With fairly stripped-back lyrics (although they’re still just as flirty and fun as what’s almost expected of the group by now), the focus here is really what’s going on behind them—the poppy, striking, instrumental that loops perfectly front-to-back is the main player with ‘05.’ The vocals are pitched slightly up throughout, not enough to make them sound childish or whiny, but enough to fit the music it’s building on. Quoting one of the notes left on this track exactly—‘no notes.’ This was a pretty surefire hit with all of them, nothing but praise heaped upon it. Although not as centre-stage as a title track or even the song that would’ve been promoted on the music shows, ‘TRACK05’ would have been (for me, at least) one of those magic B-sides you want to keep to yourself and tuck into as many playlists as you can justify it fitting alongside. In some ways, it sounds older—but not in a dated way, just something that feels like it came long, long before any of the others. And it did! Kind of, anyway. Apparently it was a redo of one of Joosun’s old demos he dug back up from when he was just starting out both as a producer and at JAGUAR. The more you know.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK05:’ ‘05.’ DATED FROM 01/06/24—03/06/24.

i hate to say it, but wow. Are you sure your fingers aren’t bleeding after all that praise?

No notes! None! Release it to the world—now!!

Coming right back to the heavy-hitters, ‘TRACK06’ (aptly named ‘ANTHEMS’ in an email) is spinning the same tale musically as most of its predecessors. While with previous tracks it was on some occasions a one-or-the-other combination, ‘ANTHEMS’ has both the lyrics and the instrumental work together to spin a story about missing the nightlife scene they’ve all been seen within over the years of being active—a throwback to night out at the club, a party where the bass is so loud you feel like it's thrumming in your veins. It’s somewhat yearning in a way ‘ROMEO’ was, although it’s not particularly for any sort of lover—it’s more for a feeling, a place, a drink or two in hand. As much as the music and the colour and the infighting, CHERRYADE is also known for the long stretches of time between albums where they’re just.. Not doing anything. The period between ‘TASTE TEST’ and ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ springs to mind immediately, the group unofficially but very obviously put on hold after the mess that was the JUST4U reunion (oh, to be a fly on the wall when that was happening..). A few have gone on record or hinted on social media that it was a challenging time for them (Doyeon especially, admitting in quite a heartfelt Instagram post that it took a while for him to pick himself back up off the ground during the year away from the idol life, as exhausting as it surely is—which is why I suspect he was involved in this track, as well as maybe Jalen; what with the yearning for the club scene). This was something I’m guessing spoke to the group as a whole, as there’s no complaints to be heard. Liked all-around, even if there was some apprehension on whether or not to include it in the project.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK06:’ ‘ANTHEMS.’ DATED FROM 28/08/24—06/09/24.

Give me that drunk cigarette! Is that a compliment?

i think i shed a tear… we all saw you shedding tears.

EMAILS EXCHANGED.. WHY AM I STILL SAYING THAT? 01/09/24.

⠀⠀RE: ‘ANTHEMS’—is it a goer? ███ seems to think so, I know that much (he won’t stop going on about it), but I just wanted to check. This is definitely going on there, right? I mean.. It’s the best out of all of them, in my opinion. Especially after the shit show that N03 is. And ███, if you thumbs-down react to this, I’m gonna set your alarm for 5:30. Anyway—this could be the title track, if you ask me.

⠀⠀RE: RE: ‘ANTHEMS’—is it a goer? Did you seriously just ask if it was a goer? ████’s been playing it all week, it’s driving me insane. I never thought I’d get sick of ██’s voice, but if I hear it any more then I just might. It’s definitely going on there.

Circling right back around to the likes of ‘BUMP&LOVE’ and ‘SCARED,’ ‘TRACK07’ is.. I wouldn’t say classic, but definitely more of the conventional CHERRYADE sound than the last three tracks before it (although, of course, the dramatic change in instrumental from verse to pre-chorus rings true with the new direction the sound has been taking thus far, with an up-and-down drum beat alongside their vocals). Referred to otherwise as ‘CRUSH,’ I think it’s prime promoted B-side material (like a glad reprieve for those who wouldn’t have been the biggest fans of ‘STICKER,’ what with their softer vocals and generally less relentless sound). I like it, and it appears most of the members did too, even if they did make fun of the drop and the producer who put it together (I’m pointing the finger at Daejin, after his hand in ‘SCARED’). I know I said that a group like CHERRYADE aren’t really the ones who are all that bothered about crafting every album as a perfectly-cohesive project that loops well from start-to-finish, tells a story that has a beginning, middle, and end, but personally I think that the back-and-forth between the more out-there (‘STICKER,’ ‘ROMEO,’ ‘TRACK05,’) and the more things-you’re-used-to (‘BUMP&LOVE,’ and now ‘CRUSH’) is semi-connected in of itself. It’s here, and then it’s there. It’s what you’re used to and then a slap in the face—and then a soothing hand to guide you back to the things you know, before that hand then shoves you off a cliff again. I just.. I like it. To be honest, it sucks that this is never going to see the official light of day, but I’m also grateful it fell into my hands. A catch-22 sort of situation, maybe?

NOTES ON ‘TRACK07:’ ‘CRUSH.’ DATED FROM 19/08/24—27/08/24.

CRUSH. Alright. I get that. What’s with the construction work in the background? Took the words right out of my mouth.

there isn’t gonna be some really stupid choreo to go along with this, right?? you couldn’t dance it anyway you are literally not funny.

I’m seriously gonna lock you out of the studio. What the hell is this? When the fans love it I’m gonna follow you around to laugh in your face all day!

With sounds somewhat calling back to ‘SCARED’ (which I’m sure Joosun loved), ‘TRACK08’—otherwise called ‘CHAIN’—is quite a rap-line heavy song, which I like. The vocalists still pull their weight and more, though, especially with the high-note later on (which I think is Hasun? Crazy work!), and it all comes together in something that is both very much different from their previous work, but a very enjoyable ride anyway. It’s.. Sort of ‘STICKER’ reminiscent, but it sounds a little rawer, a little more unpolished—which, make no mistake, I like a lot. Another one I’m betting SODA BOMBS would be doing their utmost to defend, fighting tirelessly against the ‘useless noise music’ allegations with a lot of creatively-worded threats and the like. Lyrically, they’re as confident as they have been in the past and have been earlier in the album, spouting lines such as ‘rhythm, beat, melody, we make you so crazy’—which is undoubtedly true, although whether you want to take ‘crazy’ positively or negatively is really up to you. Reactions in terms of the members were a mixed bag (also similar to ‘STICKER,’ although the like-it-to-hate-it ratio wasn’t nearly as awful as it was for the title track), and for once Joosun wasn’t the one doing the dunking on the production. There was a little toss-up over email between this and ‘CRUSH’ as to which should be the promoted B-side, but ultimately ‘CRUSH’ won out—maybe they thought two songs full of noise that wasn’t as easily-listenable as it had been in the past would’ve been too much. Although, personally, I would’ve enjoyed it.

NOTES ON ‘TRACK08:’ ‘CHAIN.’ DATED FROM 15/09/24—02/010/24.

We can’t keep letting him get away with this. Honestly? I like it. FINALLY!

five MORE stars for my favourite ★★★★★ thank you ◡̈

I guess anything’s better than the flute. I don’t really think they’re as bad as you all keep saying they are. Your leader’s spoken! His words are final! They’re both good!

EMAILS EXCHANGED—25/09/24 & 27/09/24.

⠀⠀RE: Coin Toss! Chain or Crush? That is the question! But I think I better leave this one to the experts—which ‘C’ should be the ‘B’? Well, I guess they’re all ‘B’s.. Let me know! But don’t keep me waiting too long. Time’s-a-ticking, and all that. With love from your favourite ██, ████.

⠀⠀RE: CRUSH. I think we’ll go with the latter. Chain can be the surprise not-Sticker, or something. We don’t need to scare off all of the fans at once—that can wait until after they’ve listened to the whole album.

Last of the tracks given to me, we have ‘TRACK09’—or rather, ‘WHERE’S YOUR HEAD AT?’—and.. It’s definitely earned its place here on the ‘BROKEN GLASS’ album. Persistent, ear-ringing, and just as unyielding as the likes of ‘STICKER’ and ‘CHAIN,’ it’s certainly one that sticks in your head long after the first listen, and that’s not just because of the hounding instrumental (which I’m 99% sure is a Joosun concoction)—a neverending siren following you for the majority of the track, pitched up and down but still there and unwilling to leave you alone. Lyrically it’s much more simple for the most part, until the second verse, wherein you get hit with the line ‘you have now found yourself trapped in the incomprehensible maze.’ Which, uh.. A little bleak? The members seemed to think so too, if the commentary had anything to say about it. It does invoke the sort of mindlessness feeling you might get after staring at all things CHERRYADE for too long, though.. Too much colour, all that noise, everything everywhere all of the time with no time given for a chance to catch your breath. But still—some people like that, me included. Coming back once more to that theme of cohesiveness, I like that ‘WHERE’S YOUR HEAD AT?’ leaves you right back where you began the album with ‘STICKER.’ Loud, unforgiving, a final shot to the chest right next to where the first one hit you. And again, even if it’s so different to what they’ve done before, I still feel like it’s them. The golden thread in their case is more of a multicoloured one, covered in sugar and sour to the taste, but I honestly think it still runs unbroken throughout the nine tracks of ‘BROKEN GLASS.’

NOTES ON ‘TRACK09:’ ‘WHERE’S YOUR HEAD AT?’ DATED FROM 18/11/24—01/12/24.

That random line? Who wanted to get existential? Existential, my ass. He probably got that shit from a wannabe profound indie movie. It’s a bit of a brainworm, though. Where’s your head at!!!

my new alarm.. Not when your room’s right next to mine, it isn’t.

Anyway, that’s it for the music side. I’m not entirely sure if there was intended to be a tenth track, seeing as they’ve had full albums where one is just a shorter intro rather than an actual song before, but as the nine-song-long project it is currently (and I guess it’ll stay as.. Forever?) I like it. It works. Would’ve worked, for me, if it was ever put out officially. The other big thing I was given were visions. Not actual ones, because I’m not quite sure how that would work over email, but moodboard-type things on what the intended styling and general look for the era was going to be, presumably put together by the likes of Son Sebin (the head stylist) and, of course, Choi Eunhee (JAGUAR’s creative director). They’re both, like ‘BROKEN GLASS’ musically, the same but different to how all of their previous eras looked before. It’s still colourful (that’s the one thing I’m sure CHERRYADE will never go without), still very much filled with charms and trinkets and accessories, but there are also a few elements that stand out to me as being something fairly new. Again, I’m more than glad I was the one to receive all of this, but I still wish we could’ve actually seen it in action. Maybe some talented editors could have a go at pasting the outfits onto their fansite music show photos from past eras.

In terms of colours, going off of the reference sheet, it both calls back to ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ in some places, and moves forward in others. It looks darker, for the most part, a clear shift in direction to fully cement this as a new era. Screens, cities, blurry figures, a glittering makeup palette—someone’s on the move, someone’s headed for a night out at a club where they play music so harsh you go home with your ears ringing, but you’re already planning to head back again next weekend. Close-ups and duo shots, it looks to get a lot more up close and personal, like you’re squeezed for space right next to them in the apartment bathroom, all trying to add those final touches to your hair or glitter to your cheeks; pressing those coloured contacts in before somebody else grabs you by the arm and yanks you outside and pushes you into the taxi waiting in the night. They’re no strangers to the clubbing feel of their concepts, referenced or implied multiple times throughout their past eras, and so again I think this links back to the golden thread—flashing back to the old, but at the same time passing you a flask on the car ride to the new. There were no notes included from the members on this, but there were a few excerpts from Eunhee on what her intentions were for the project and how it should look, taken from what was called her ‘Q1 2025 Project Book.’ How they dug that up, I don’t know—and don’t want to know. All I hope is that it was all very above-board (although.. I doubt it).

Q1 2025 Project Book⸻Broken Glass Photoshooting Ref. Sheet.

Shot mainly on black. Just to give it a bit of an edge—but don’t lean too far into that word, because turning around and trying to sell them as wannabe gangsters when people have seen them dancing in pastel overalls and tanghulu headbands is never going to work. It should still be fun, still be poppy, still be colourful and in-your-face, but just with an added something. It’s a new era now, so it should reflect that. Shove back the purple a little, maybe push forward the pinks, yellows? More dynamic posing, couple and group them up and get in closer—you’re part of the group, dancing alongside them in some stupid club. Nowhere near indie sleaze, but it’s still the party scene. Eyeshadow, glitter, smudged lipstick, whatever. They’ve got the features, and they need to be used. Eyes and mouths on screens, bubblegum popping, lollipop sticks hanging out of their mouths—although at this point I doubt a cigarette would do much damage to their public image anyway, so it could be tried. Sets could be fun, but runs the risk of making it a little overcrowded. The backseat of a car, a bathroom, somewhere with mirrors, but that’s it. Save the actual club set for the music video, or something.

Styling for this era seemed quite free, but I think that’s just because the notes I was given were quite early-stage—more of throwing ideas at a wall and seeing which ones stuck rather than a set list of designers, accessories, materials (although leather looks to be a fairly prominent notion), etc. Eunhee’s passage seems to reflect that, too, but even if it’s nothing what the intended final project was to look like, I still like the initial visions put together. It’s still colourful, of course, and still includes some elements of accessorising that CHERRYADE have been seen to don many a time in the past (such as large and very decorated acrylic nails, which would’ve been very fun to see them wearing), but it also leans away from that somewhat to focus on something simpler. Maybe they thought that if they’d be performing ‘STICKER,’ then parading the members around in hordes of necklaces and backpacks and flip-phones and the like would be a little too much for the viewer to take in at one time (which, to be honest, makes sense). There are also elements of duos in the styling reference sheet, so maybe they were intending to have a few of them match outfits on stage on a few occasions, which would’ve been fun to see in terms of who they paired who with (especially if they tried to make Yijun and Jaehee do a couple look. I can only imagine the scathing looks the former would be giving Sebin as she showed it off backstage).

Q1 2025 Project Book⸻Broken Glass Styling Ref. Sheet.

EARLY VERSION. More of an intended springboard than anything concrete. But, to be honest, I’m almost tempted to say ‘free reign’ and see where that lands us. It’s not like you have a dress code for a night out in the city. Leaning into the pink again could be fun, as well as bringing out some fur or animal skin (Minhui would be all over it). Not looking to go too big on accessories, either, but that’s more for an attempt at realism—do you really wanna wear tons of necklaces and dangly keychains when you’re gonna be dancing all night to some bad EDM remix of an old Top 40 hit? We could play it more androgynous—I have some nail sets that could be tried out if we made them promise not to try and poke each other’s eyes out with them, and I found one of Yeseul’s old FEELING SWEET outfits the other day.. We’ll see. Their hair can be dyed bioluminescent for all I care, as long as it’s fun—extensions, spikes, all of that. Eyewear? I don’t know anyone who wears sunglasses in the club, but maybe we can throw realism out of the window for that one. Need to send this over to Sumi for revisions.

And.. Well. With that, this marks the end of all I was given about ‘BROKEN GLASS,’ the album that never was. I still have no clue why it was scrapped (boredom on the part of Seungdae? A particularly bad fight?) but if anything comes through, I’ll be sure to let you know. Or maybe the news will break to everyone, and we’ll all find out together. I’m obviously still not thrilled about however long the months of inactivity will continue to stretch, as well as the fact that we won’t get to see this album play out officially, but I am still happy that this little piece of gold (or.. I don’t know, this little rock of popping candy, if you want to keep up with the sweet theme) fell into my lap via that JAGUAR staff member. I hope I’m still small enough to fly under the radar of their.. Bigger fishes in the pond, because I don’t really want to get served with any kind of lawsuit or threat on my life (I’m not saying it's likely, but who knows. What if they set Yijun on me?). I’m simply sharing what was given to me to my modest little following, no harm done. Call it word of mouth, except I have a little more insider intel than the last person who’s just leaned over to crudely whisper into your ear. Anyway, I guess this is goodbye from me. See you in the next one—if I make it out alive.

[chcrryade]

THE TRIBUTE TURNED TRIAL, TURNED TRIUMPH! MEET LIMELLY!

In all time JAGUAR fashion, CHERRYADE’s rise to fame couldn't come without a twist: after the then boy group barely cracked a year afload, the higher-ups decided that, in homage to their first ever act, the coed duo JUST4U, and as a sign of a brand new beginning, three ‘treats’ would be added to the group (all code for “damn, not spicy enough? Hell, add some girls to the mix! No one did that yet!”)

But only two months after LAYLA, DOMI and SOOAH made their (annoyingly pushy, one could say) debut with the explosive and tooth-rotting ADD LIME mini album, came the catastrophic JUST4U reunion, and suddenly everyone got reminded why so very few coeds ever make it big!

They got integrated into the group quickly after, if a little hidden, joining the SWEET (SOUR) promotions as a full 10 member CHERRYADE to surprisingly fun chemistry and fan tolerance. Only due to popular demand after LOVE BOMB became a smash hit on social media, snatching a mind boggling music show win in January 2024, did LIMELLY see unit freedom again.

They’re known backstage as the most presentable faces of the ever chatty, always nosy CHERRYADE, and a sisterhood out to wreck all.

GROUP NAME! –– LIMELLY * a.k.a LemonLadies + SourThree

GREETING! –– "CRACK, FIZZLE, POP! WE’RE CHERRYADE!" + "ADD TO THE TOP! WE’RE LIMELLY!"

CONCEPT! –– SO SOUR, SO SWEET! A RUSH OF ENERGY!

FANDOM NAME! –– SODA BOMBS + * unofficially SOUR PUNCHS

✿ . LINEUP

LAYLA SON ✿ ‘99 LEAD RAPPER LIMELLY LEADER [🇦🇺🇰🇷 + she/they]

PARK DOMI ✿ ‘00 MAIN VOCALIST [🇰🇷 + she/her]

YOON SOOAH ✿ ‘01 MAIN DANCER LEAD VOCALIST [🇰🇷 + she/her]

✿ . LIMELLY HITS

SEPTEMBER 2022 'ADD LIME' MINI ALBUM LOVE BOMB

MARCH 2024 'AFTERTASTE' MINI ALBUM TTYL

APRIL 2025 'CHERRY-CHEER' MINI ALBUM SUGAR FREE VENOM

MORE ON LIMELLY ... Firework Diary | Candy Crush | SURF! | digital emotional // MORE ON CHERRYADE ... @chcrryade

[chcrryade]

ERR.. ARE YOU SURE HE WAS HERE BEFORE?

Yes, you idiot! He’s been here since the start! Can’t you remember? ⠀⸻⠀ HAE JIHU ( 하지후 ) was once the eleventh, then later the tenth member of Kpop boy group LOOPiN, housed first under New Wave Music both before & after its split with Blockberry Creative, and then later Rare Rhythm. First debuting with the solo ‘GO BACK’ in the first week of November 2018 as part of the original ‘Boy Of The Week’ project ( that was intended to mirror their once-sister group LOONA ), he finally came together with the rest of the group in August 2019.

AN ETERNAL LIFE IS NOT A PERFECT LIFE.

You wake up. You get ready. You go to work. The same people greet you on the way, the same stores and the same cars and the same buildings all line the same streets you walk down. You do the same things on your same computer in your same cubicle as you did yesterday, as you did a week ago, as you’ve done since this all began. You eat the same thing when you get back home, flip through the same TV channels, and go to bed at the same time that night. You’ve always been here. This is just your place. Stuck. Some go forward, and others back, but you’re just here. And you’ll never be anywhere else. ⠀⸻⠀ a fan’s analysis on JIHU’s place in The Looplore, circa 2021.

( 知夏. KNOWING SUMMER. )⠀⠀Born into a household that was so loud it was a struggle and a half to get a word in edgeways, Jihu has always felt he’s just been.. There. The quiet one in the corner, watching everything as it passes. And really, it was only a matter of time before the walls started closing in too much, before he felt as if he was going to start cracking right down the middle if he didn’t do something soon, if he didn’t do something fast—and that was how he ended up in the auditions room, racing against a clock that wasn't really there. That didn’t change even when he was given his place in the group, always too ready to run at the slightest inkling that he’s about to go back to the one forgotten, the one left behind. He’ll move until there’s no ground left beneath his feet, and even then he’ll claw at the air on the way down.⠀⠀( ILL-CONSIDERED. OVEREAGER. FERVANT. BENEVOLENT. I BELONG here. I can’t tell you how good that feels. )

GIVEN NAME Hae Jihu.⠀OTHER ALIASES Jiha (nickname).⠀BIRTHDATE 17 / 02 / 01.⠀PROFESSION idol, songwriter.⠀GROUP POSITIONS vocalist, sub rapper.⠀ETHNICITY Korean.⠀NATIONALITY South Korean.⠀FACE CLAIM Choi Jiung.

LET THE MUSIC DO THE TALKING.

WAKE UP ╱ LET’S LEAVE is a double-sided single released by the sub-unit ‘LOOPiN HERE&THERE,’ made up of members JIHU and O.Z. Released in early June 2023, both tracks were written as a collaborative effort between them, with the production mostly falling on the latter’s shoulders while JIHU only accompanied in the final mastering of the two tracks. The singles were accompanied by a short MV, more of a collection of colourful scenes than any coherent storyline, and were what JIHU referred to as a ‘passion project,’ although whether he meant for him or for both of them was unclear.

While he’s not officially part of nor particularly affiliated with the produce line, Jihu still dabbles in it—but mostly in his own time. His tendency to leave projects half-finished, always jumping from one thing to the next as soon as the next strike of inspiration hits, isn’t always one that meshes well with his fellow group members. All of these snippets, however long, live on his SoundCloud, underneath the username ‘baejha17.’ Some of these capsules of split-second thought and feeling include ‘holdOn,’ ‘COMI,’ ( with J.J taking up the bulk of the vocals ) and ‘되감기’ ( meaning rewind ). He hasn’t had an official solo debut other than his 2018 release ‘GO BACK’ before the group was properly formed, but the ( occasionally incomplete ) songs had been coming thick and fast throughout most of 2024, only petering out towards the end, and that seemed to have satisfied those wanting a full own-project enough for the time being.

WAIT A MiNUTE.. STOP! RECORD SCRATCH!

APRIL 2025.⠀Posted without warning, without explanation. It got people talking, had them confused—and just as much, theorising. An official solo debut? A campaign announcement? ( Although, when asked for what, those who’d suggested the idea came up short ). Are you even real? The line, for some, felt like a callback to the long-abandoned Looplore, and so many an old analysis on all of the loosely-tied-together content was dug back up again so they could comb over it, desperate to find something within it that they may have missed; something that may give them the answer to this singular ( and unhelpfully blank ) jigsaw piece placed before them.

Back in the same place on the same day doing the same things. It starts to mess with your mind, after a while. What are you doing all of this for, anyway? Why can’t you just—not? Would it really be so bad to walk down the wrong streets, skip work, eat out for the night? Come on, you know you want to. What do you mean, you’re not allowed? Break out. Prove your existence, even if you’re the only one who’ll know about it. They’re going back, or moving forward, and you’re left to watch. This might be your only chance. ⠀⸻⠀ fan-theory on the thought process behind AYER?

So.. What was it? Well. When there’s a glitch on your screen, a crack in the system ( someone’s broken out, someone’s taken the chance ), then I guess you’ll know. But for now, you can only wonder.

insp⠀profile⠀music format⠀love u LOOPiN !!!!!!!!! 💗

[chcrryade]

09 MARCH 2025. MAYBE YOU SAW IT. MAYBE YOU SAW HIM.

WHO ARE YOU?⠀BERLIN, GERMANY.

구름 9.⠀THE BOY IN THE CROWD CAMPAIGN.

[chcrryade]

i ALMOST forgot dont call me a bad friend.. happy yijun day i love that little bitch ☺️!!

GIVE IT UP FOR THE MAN (demon) HIMSELF!

[chcrryade]

GO GET YOUR BEAT BACK. I stand corrected. My hat’s off to you, Jiyeol. Or, it would be if I wore one. Song Kyumin. Sept 30, 2024.

Here I am, doing the long-ago (eight months ago, to be specific) mentioned standing and applauding. You can’t see me, but I just took a break from my laptop and did just that. Honest.

Yes, you heard me. Kil Jiyeol (of BONSOIR fame, for about a year and a half) is, against all odds, starting his very own label. Announced only a few days ago—the 26th of September, in fact, on its brand new Twitter (or rather, X? Not that I want to call it that) account in the mid-morning. The name of this new chapter in his life is named, as you may have either guessed from my title or seen for yourself, is BEAT BACK. But they’re not aiming to be an entertainment company like JAGUAR, or SM, or any others that house your favourite acts. In his own words, from a rather heartfelt informal-interview-style video posted over on his Instagram (another thing I was admittedly wrong about him not touching again, but at least I was right for about eight months):

“I’m not aiming for us to end up being this big conglomerate, or anything. I mean, sure, we’ll have groups, but there won’t be much.. Content. You know, like a variety show, or an excursion, or whatever. We do the music, the concept, the distribution, all that, and they can do everything else. Why would I give a [—] if one of them wants to post a video of them out in some club? If they’re seen with other people? Hell, they can go silent for the whole stretch between one release and another, as long as they still show up to the studio.”

—  via  @KILYEOL  on  Instagram.

While it could be argued he’s drawing a little on Seungdae’s ideologies—the “all press is good press” motto of his, the relaxed attitude to whatever trouble people under his care get into—it’s not as if anyone can blame him. He was there for a good sixteen years, after all. Not to psychoanalyse, but after being there for that long it’d be a miracle if he didn’t exit with some of their values burned into his brain.

But wherever he got the notions from, he’s made it pretty clear what to expect from them and their groups in the future—whenever the first will come to fruition. Maybe the eight-month stretch was spent laying down their foundations, planting seeds (you know, things like securing trademarks, finding some funds, building a team of staff, etc. The basics, as someone more experienced in this field than me might have called them). Or maybe all of that had been done before Jiyeol had even left JAGUAR in the first place, and all that time was put into perfecting everything relating to their very first project—allowing for a quicker release in order to really get the ball rolling for BEAT BACK.

However long it takes, though, the factor that will always remain the same is the support it will inevitably receive. The move was immediately met with waves of longtime (and very, very deprived of the object of their idolism) fans jumping onto the newborn BEAT BACK like it was their new lifeline, for example. I don’t really know what it is about Jiyeol to them that draws them in, but for me personally I greatly admire his drive. He’s clearly taking this seriously, and intends to see it through to the best of his ability (which I’m sure will expand with time) as well as pouring every ounce of care he can muster up into it. And while I mentioned a few names back over at JAGUAR I speculated won’t be tuning in to whatever he gets up to in the future, he still has friends like Jalen, the company’s production team (rarely seen in photos and only ever named as Daejin and Joosun respectively in track credits, neither seeming to have taken on titles for themselves), and of course his other ex-groupmates Ilwoo and Hyeonmin—the former more than the latter, the inseparable pair they’ve looked more and more to be over the months.

So. All-in-all (reception-wise, at least), although he’ll have his obstacles—as everyone does—I’m going to go out on a limb and say he’ll come out of it relatively unscathed. Doing well for himself, even, what with all the new fans he would’ve raked in with the announcement of whatever group (or member, if he decides to go down the soloist route first of all) he’s planning to push into the world of idolatry.

To really get any reception at all, the two things needed are a team good enough to put it all together and a group good enough to execute it near-perfectly. Like I said, nobody except those far closer to Jiyeol than you or I (unless.. You know him personally? If this is the case, my work email is linked—please, feel free to tell me more) knows who could possibly be in their lineups for any upcoming acts, so the next best thing is to try and take a look into is the people he’s committed himself to working alongside in this new venture of his—for now, at least.

I’m making the assumption that Ilwoo will be involved in some way, although I doubt he’ll hold any official position in the label. An outsider whose opinions are.. Largely valued, is what I’ll say. I’ve also asked around and received word from one of my many contacts that an old friend of once-JUST4U star Na Yeseul is on the team, as well as a literal relative of JAGUAR COO Sim Hyojoo. It seems that even if he’s left, he’ll never quite be free of his old company’s tendrils. But aside from those three, I haven’t been able to pry much else out—it’s either the insiders don’t want to spoil any surprises, or Jiyeol and his new team are very good at keeping secrets. I’m willing to bet it’s the latter.

I suppose all that’s left to do is wait and see, much was the case when the news initially broke of him leaving. The man is a mystery—maybe that’s where Yijun got it from. Whoever he works with, whoever he makes a group out of; the crowds will be there, and amongst them will be me. I’ll see you on the other side, because who would I be if not the person giving unsolicited opinions on anything anyone in the JAGUAR-related circle does?

Oh, you thought I wasn’t serious? Email me at kyuminsong@pblicenemy.co.kr if you have any info you think I’d like to know.

[chcrryade]

  ⠀ര ( ˶°ㅁ°)⠀UNWRAP...⠀LEMON ON ICE! ⠀28042024⠀❘❙❚❙

As mentioned, all came to light in early 2024, revealing what all the rumoured tension had been about inside the company walls. Former BONSOIR leader (and known to still be quite an influential figure inside the company despite not being active anymore) Kil Jiyeol was cutting his contract and leaving his JAGUAR days behind—to apparently start a company of his own, although that had again come from word of mouth rather than any sort of official statement from neither the man himself nor any of his closer associates. Alongside this announcement, it came to light that his fellow former BONSOIR members Mai and Hyeonmin had left a long while prior—as early as June 2020, barely a month after BONSOIR’s disbandment notice. This obviously left the public and company in a sort of state of disarray, no one quite sure what was going to happen with CHERRYADE as a result. Month after month crawled by, and the people were starting to worry that this was a ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ situation. Until mid April arrived, and teasers for the mini album ‘LEMON ON ICE’ officially began to be put out, and everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief. They weren’t over just yet. Released on the 28th that same month, ‘LEMON ON ICE’ was, in three words, the car era. Every group has one, don’t lie. To sum it up relatively quickly, CHERRYADE’s most recent comeback was—as always—a neon-light-filled, argument-littered, and accessory-heavy affair, this time with added revving engines and multiple car innuendos.

⠀ᝪ  .ᐟ⠀⠀▬ ▬ ▬⠀⠀the  stats

RELEASED⠀28 / 04 / 2024

PROMOTIONAL PERIOD⠀3 WEEKS

UNITS SOLD⠀1M

WINS⠀3

⠀ᝪ  .ᐟ⠀⠀▬ ▬ ▬⠀⠀the  tracks

CAN’T BREATHE⠀WRITTEN 잘렌 & 도연 PROD. 대진

MAKE ME⠀WRITTEN 재희 & 고고 PROD. 주순

NONSTOP⠀LEAD⠀WRITTEN 하선 & 대진 PROD. 주순

WINNER⠀PROMOTED B-SIDE⠀WRITTEN 해일 PROD. 주순

LIMIT⠀WRITTEN 宜君 & 잘렌 PROD. 대진

FlipSide⠀⸻⠀the  following  overviews  have  been  outsourced  from  various  netizens.  general  consensus:  ★★★★☆

ഒ⠀from  user  cherryhee⠀30042024

For our five-track-run, ‘Can’t Breathe’ is up first, with lyrics written by Jalen and Doyeon comparing the object of their affections to a ray of light: ‘shine on me again, it’s amazing, your prism.’ Second of all is ‘Make Me,’ in which they speak of wanting to ‘run, run, run and run more,’ written by duo Jaehee and Gogo. Not quite the suggestive anthem people thought it was going to end up as from their first impressions of the title. ‘Nonstop’—what I expect to be the most performed—written in part by Hasun, compares the members themselves to super cars. Second to last ‘Winner’ (another I think will be performed during this promotional period), with lyrics by Haeil, asserts that ‘I'm [the group] back, everyone pays attention.’ Finally we have the Jalen and Yijun-penned (although it’s not a track sung in mandarin this time) ‘Limit,’ filled to the brim with cold hard confidence: ‘this is the main character, that's our role.’ It’s cars, it’s cool conviction, and it’s undeniably CHERRYADE—the only thing missing is the sex track.

ഒ⠀from  user  mingohwi⠀20052024

The ups came in the form of their happiness similar to how the mood had been back in the ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ era, where all of them were just glad they hadn’t been tossed aside. They filmed more vlogs, showed more behinds, and were very online generally. Extra content was fun (including a racing game night slash sleepover at a house they’d cobbled together to rent for a couple nights, a go-karting session, and a sort of surreal makeshift Fast & Furious movie roleplay scenario they were clearly making up as they went along, where they all made up different personas for themselves and went down all sorts of different action and drama-filled plotlines), and they all seemed to be getting along just fine; Jaehee and Yijun having apparently buried the hatchet once again for this era and playing civil with one another. They were just having fun, plain and simple as that.

Fans were also given more insight into the creative process behind the mini album (recording, practising, etc) and a few core staff members made some recurring appearances—the main production team, their choreographer, and their stylist. The members of staff were all similar in age to the members themselves (on Doyeon and Jalen’s end, anyway) and so the close bond they were shown to have was one that most enjoyed being privy to. It sort of created an illusion of viewers being closer to them—like they were being let into a secret, or something.

On the flip side, this also seemed to be a bit of a party era for the boys, which some fans didn’t seem to enjoy as much as all the videos showcasing how much the members were. It was club after club, blurry photos of shots in hands and far-too-serious dance-offs in the middle of the floor to whatever mindless EDM song the DJ was blasting in the background. Someone even said Jalen took over the DJ booth one night, but since nothing’s been provided to back up the story you can take that one with a grain of salt. Things were also a little tense considering Jiyeol’s departure, especially considering how Jalen was known to be close to him and that he’d shared a group with both Yijun and Jaehee for a while, and Yijun addressed the situation on a live by simply saying that he was ‘glad he [Jiyeol] was finally gone.’ Which of course didn’t go down well with fans of the man, so he got into a little bit of hot water for that one.

ഒ⠀from  user  hasunshine⠀21052024

As for the styling, outfits were all in the racing-adjacent region (although some performances ditched the jackets and more recognised uniforms for racers and stepped into more of a streetwear direction to fit in with the street side of the concept) and sometimes were described as such an assault on the senses colour and pattern-wise that it was a little hard to watch their performances. Some fans then came to the defence that if you turned your head and squinted, they actually looked great. Or just defaulted to the ‘the fans that get it, get it’ approach. I personally liked them, because the feeling of being attacked visually is something I think is quite fun. Accessories included overly large chains, painted flames on most outfits, too many rings in too many different colours and sizes to fit on any one of their fingers, (at times) ridiculous headwear—I mean, why did Hasun have a tanghulu headband on for one show? Nobody I’ve asked can give me the answer—and, somewhat reminiscent of the ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ era, a lot of neon, although this time it was in the form of body paint and hair dye that made them look like glow sticks when the lights were low.

All in all, ‘LEMON ON ICE’ proved to be just as eventful as all that came before it. The group never seem to have a moment where there’s nothing going on, even if it’s as small as a nonsensical (but unnecessarily heated) argument over what they’d bring with them onto a desert island. Witnessing all of it as it came was as fun as I’ve come to always expect them to be. It falls somewhere in the middle of my favourite eras on the whole. Just behind ‘DOUBLE DIP,’ maybe.

(¬_¬) ⠀at  a  glance  ⠀𝄂𝄂𝄀𝄁𝄃𝄂𝄂𝄃⠀  lemononice.jpg ⠀(  OO3  )

[chcrryade]

⠀maybe it’s been a long time coming.

INCLUDING◞⠀kil jiyeol. (&) duan jalen, mae ilwoo, na yeseul, qiao yijun, JG staff. TIMESTAMP◞⠀OCTOBER 2016—JANUARY 2024. WARNINGS◞⠀non-chronological, implied sex, mentioned smoking. WORD COUNT◞⠀5.3K NOTE◞⠀this is important to ME! and maybe me only. oh well

scribbled on a calendar in bright pink biro that wasn’t his own, under JUNE 27, 2023: LUNCH WITH JALEN

“I want to leave.”

Jalen looked at him from over the top of his menu, slowly setting it down onto the tabletop. Idle conversation from the tables around them filtered into one ear and out of the other while the singer stared at him.

“Here? We just sat down.”

Jiyeol rolled his eyes. Jalen was difficult on the best of days.

“No, idiot. We waited half an hour for this table, I’m not wasting time finding somewhere else to eat. I.. I want to leave the company.”

He sat back in his chair after he’d explained himself, expecting a reaction out of the younger man. A gasp, maybe. A look of shock. Anything at all, really.

What he got instead was a bored shrug. Jalen picked the menu back up and returned to his thorough exploration of the starter options. “Do it, then.”

Jiyeol leaned back over the table to rip the menu from Jalen’s hands, ignoring the irritated noise in response. “That’s it? What the fuck! At least pretend to be surprised.”

The singer snatched the laminated piece of paper back out of the older rapper’s grip and pulled a face, holding it out of reach when he tried to make a grab for it again. “Why should I? It’s all you’ve been complaining about for months, hyung. I’d be more surprised if you stayed.”

“Everyone complains about their company. You do it, too. Are you leaving with me?”

Jalen’s eyes strayed downwards, back to the list of meals sat before him. His shoulders seemed to draw in on themselves, as if he was trying to make himself smaller, arms tucked into his sides. “No. There’s—you know. The group.”

Jiyeol’s nose wrinkled, eyeing up his dongsaeng for a moment while he pretended to ponder over what he wanted to eat. The mysterious act couldn’t have been a more obviously fake persona, because Jalen was easier to read than any book he could’ve picked up off of the shelves. It surprised him that more people hadn’t come to notice. Maybe it was just Jiyeol who was of that opinion. Maybe it was just how they worked.

“The group. Right.” He was more certain it was mostly one person in particular, but he’d overlook it for now. Excuse the lie. His lock screen was a picture of the seven of them, after all, so it might’ve contained one lick of truth. “How’s Yijun?”

Jalen’s head raised to give Jiyeol a look of contempt, followed by a short eye roll. “Yijun is Yijun. I have no idea how he is. It fluctuates.”

The rapper held a hand up in a mock surrender, sitting back in his seat once more. “Alright, I was only asking. And hand that menu over, you’ve hogged it long enough.”

Jalen played at shielding it from him, throwing an arm over the top and lowering his head so far his nose almost touched the smooth surface of the table. “I’m not done.”

Difficult.

Jiyeol sighed and acquiesced, attempting to bite back the small smile that rose to his face when the menu was quietly slid over to him a few moments later.

For a place they’d waited that long to get into, the options that were to his taste were few and far between. He supposed it was his own fault for not looking online before he let Jalen book a spot. Silence fell between them for a while, Jiyeol making faces down at all the food listed and Jalen drumming his fingers on the tabletop in a random rhythm, feet following the same beat. He could tell something was coming, and so looked up just in time for a question to be sprung at him.

“What are you gonna do afterwards?”

Jiyeol’s mouth opened, but the words didn’t come. He was expecting the question, of course, but not this soon. Had thought Jalen would wait until they’d eaten, at least. His hand went from running through his hair, to tugging at one of his earrings, to finally joining the other folded in his lap, as an answer finally came to him. The one he’d been juggling around in his head for a long time, the one he’d been up late researching and looking into more and more over the months that had passed. The one he decided he was finally ready to say out loud, instead of dismissing it as a pipe dream.

“I want to start my own label. Or—try to, at least. I don’t know if it’ll work out.”

As far as he knew, it would take a lot of paperwork. Enthusiasm, the drive to actually make it work. Critical thinking, planning, an inside-and-out understanding of the industry and what made it tick. And an ego, of course, but Jiyeol was sure he had that down already. He felt a little.. Nervous, of all things, as he faced Jalen after his declaration, unsure of how his dongsaeng would react. 

The man in question was wide-eyed, not quite dramatic enough in character to be open-mouthed, but still visibly surprised. They stared at one another for a few moments, neither saying a word. A waitress approached their table, pad in hand and biro tucked into the pocket of her apron, which she retrieved as she came to a stop before the pair of them.

“Hi! Can I get you anything, or do you need a little more time?”

She sounded like she was smiling, but Jiyeol didn’t really know. He was still looking at Jalen, who was looking straight back at him. Silence fell over their table, idle chatter from others sounding that much louder in comparison to how quiet it was. Shoes shifted uneasily from where the woman was standing, the nib of her pen retreating in and then being pushed out again with a click. He probably should’ve said something, but he didn’t. Just.. Kept on staring. Click. There was a question in Jalen’s eyes that he wouldn’t know how to answer if they both just stayed silent—which was looking like the likely scenario. Click. Jiyeol’s eyes were starting to water from the impromptu staring competition they’d entered, and the waitress coughed uncomfortably, turning to leave again.

“I’ll just, uh, come back in a sec.”

She retreated, and yet they still stayed silent. He was starting to regret saying anything at all. He was about to make an attempt to change the subject, or maybe to escape to the bathroom to douse himself in cold tap water and clear his head, or maybe outside for a smoke break to take the edge off, or maybe outside to catch a cab away from here and away from Jalen’s prying eyes—until everything came rushing out of the younger’s mouth like the floodgates had burst.

“Your—your own label. For real? With who? A label, hyung? Like.. Like Jaguar? Is it even for music? Are you going into clothes? Are you sure?”

He looked frantic—nothing like the calm, composed Jalen he was known as to everyone else, known as even to him until two minutes ago—and more than a little out of breath by the end of it. Jiyeol wished the waitress had stayed, because Jalen could’ve probably used some water after that performance. He stopped himself from staring into his desperate, searching gaze for just a few seconds by breaking away and looking over the rest of the tables inside the restaurant instead. A few eyes met his, likely alerted by the outburst that Jalen hadn’t bothered to try and lower the volume of, but they turned their heads as soon as it happened. Once the silence had stretched on for a minute or two again, Jiyeol turned back to the man on the other side of the table.

“Jae.”

He cringed at his own choice of words, of nickname, and decided to start again, sitting up more in his chair and meeting Jalen’s still-wide, endless eyes head on.

“Jieyang.”

The use of his birth name only made him look more nervous, if anything, shoulders drawing in on themselves as they had earlier. Dyed hair fell into his face, and a hand reached up to push it back out of his eyes. Jiyeol carried on, contemplating his words as he went along—trying to find the best way to explain something he himself hadn’t fully thought out yet.

“Yes, my own label—and yes, for music. Why would I want to start making clothes, what the fuck? I.. I don’t really know who with, yet. Or where. Or.. How, I guess. Well, I do know how, I’ve been researching. But I know it’ll take a while. I want to do it anyway.”

He ended with a smile. He hoped it looked like a smile, at least. Comfort in any shape or form had never been his strong suit, and would likely continue to not be in the future. They were back to staring at one another, not a word said. The itching feeling of wanting to make a break for it returned, left him shifting uncomfortably in his chair, but he resisted the feeling. It could wait until after Jalen had responded.

The frantic look in his eyes had calmed, leaving behind the sea of dark brown they usually were. His hands fidgeted from where they were tangled together on the tabletop between them, separating so he could pull at the corner of the long-forgotten menu. Jiyeol almost wanted to kick him under the table, to provoke him into saying something so they could brush past his own wants and desires as if he’d never shared them at all. But before his foot could move, Jalen finally spoke up.

“Okay. Okay. That’s.. That’s really cool. I think you can pull it off, hyung. I’m—I’ll always be here if you need me. You know. Just in case.”

Despite himself, a smile broke across his face, and he feigned looking at something over his shoulder to smother it. His chest felt a little warmer, a feeling somewhat like comfort settling where humiliation had been beginning to fester. His ankles hooked around the legs of his chair, and he pulled himself closer, looking back to meet Jalen’s eyes and watching as his grin widened when their gazes met. Unabashed support was all he could see in the pools of brown, and he coughed and broke eye contact once more, pretending he couldn’t feel heat prickling at the nape of his neck.

“Well. Thanks. Stop looking at me like that, though, creep. Let’s just order. You’re paying, Yang-ah.”

Jiyeol ignored Jalen’s indignant protests with a smirk and turned to catch the eye of the waitress, waving her over. If he felt a little lighter, a little freer, a little happier after the reassurance, even as he asked for a plate of something that didn’t even sound all that nice, he kept it to himself. Jalen didn’t need any bigger of a head.

calendar dates had never been a thing with them. following texts sent on APRIL 21, 2023:

Ilwoo had known first. Because of course he had. Jiyeol had sent him a text, exactly the same thing he’d told Jalen—I want to leave. Then, before the first could even be read, I want to start over.

He’d only sent back one word in reply. Alright. They both knew there was more to say, but Jiyeol had always hated doing it over the phone. Ilwoo was easier to read when he was right in front of him.

And even easier like this. Even if all the lights in Ilwoo’s apartment were off, only the cityscape to illuminate them through his too-wide bedroom window, and only his old R&B playlist to just barely cover the sounds of their laboured breathing. He knew every stretch of skin like the back of his hand, could map out every vein and find every mole with his eyes closed. He preferred them open, though, so he could lock eyes with the man above him through the dark and reach up to take his face into his palms, smoothing a thumb over the line of his cheekbone with one hand and pushing back sweat-laden strands of hair out of his view with the other.

“Come on, out with it.”

Ilwoo came to a halt for a moment, a bemused smile flitting at his lips when Jiyeol shifted his hips in an attempt to spur him on again. “Now? Really?”

He wasn’t finding it nearly as funny as the younger man was seeming to, wanting to squirm under the amused attention but holding firm to continue on.

“Yes, really, spill it. Better to be vulnerable all at once. Or something. I don’t know if that’s a quote.”

When Ilwoo’s shoulders started to shake with laughter, Jiyeol let go of his face to pinch the bare skin in retaliation, smirking to himself at the yelp of pain it evoked. They traded insults and pokes and play-punches until the younger jolted and in response Jiyeol did too, brought back to what they were doing all too suddenly.

“Shit. Just—tell me. I’m not going to beg.”

The pout that pulled at Ilwoo’s lips was predictable, familiar. Sleaze was creeping into the edges of the words he leaned closer to whinge into his ear. “Not even a little?”

Normally he’d fake-gag, push the joke a little further, indulge him a little more. But tonight Jiyeol was toeing the line of irritation, and so a blank look was all he gave him, mouth set in a flat line. Ilwoo crumbled not long afterwards, hanging his head.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just.. You’re definitely doing this for yourself, right?”

Silence. His face contorted, brow furrowing. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Ilwoo faltered again, for a moment, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, faint reflections of outside billboards and street lights and neon projecting signs lighting up his eyes when he raised his head to meet Jiyeol’s.

“Alright. Okay. I was just—asking. Wanted to check you weren’t still hung up on.. I don’t know. A few years back.”

His palms curled into fists where they were still resting on the younger man’s back, before he forced them to relax, and—he almost wanted to laugh, a little bit. Hung up? He’d felt like the rug had been yanked from underneath his feet, left stranded in a place he hated yet was scared to leave, scared to fade into another face in the crowd if he’d turned his back on it. But that was then. That was coming up on four years ago. He’d grown up. He’d gotten over it. Jiyeol could never hold a grudge—he was doing too much at any one moment for things like that to linger, and he said as much; brow still raised, eyes still blank.

The laugh he got in response sounded emptier than earlier, far from amusement. Still, Ilwoo leaned in ever closer, soft puffs of air ghosting over his cheeks as they stared at one another again. A grin even tugged at his lips, just as it had before. The tense air between them had dissipated as if it were never there in the first place.

“Well, like I said, I was only checking. Maybe that’s on me, though. Who am I to judge you, hyung, hm?”

Jiyeol had always been told he had an ugly laugh, face too scrunched up and odd little hiccups springing forth every once in a while, but for once he couldn’t stop it from bursting out of his chest from the tease, granting Ilwoo’s bare skin another lighthearted slap and then pulling him closer with a scoff they both knew he didn’t mean when the younger man whined for him to soothe the pain.

“Just shut up and get back to it.”

His smile stretched wider. Gleaming eyes in the half-dark, white teeth on display, one hand verging on too warm from where it rested heavy on his hip. Ilwoo did as told.  

nothing but a memory of OCTOBER 14, 2016.

Before anything else, he’d been the first in the know. Before he’d ever step foot on a stage, before he’d ever held a microphone in his hands. Before they’d been put together and then tossed aside again, on the way to being fully forgotten.

He couldn’t quite remember how he’d ended up on one of the balconies, standing next to Na Yeseul while she touched up her makeup. Maybe he was looking for Hyeonmin. He’d been holing himself up in practice rooms and redoing the same mindless routines until his legs were shaking and his chest was heaving, too tired to explain himself when he was found. Jiyeol was trying to stop it before it became a habit, before it became something that hurt more to stop than it did to carry on. He’d cared more, back then. But that was exactly when it was—then. 

So he’d gone looking for one and found another, led astray by a vague comment saying they thought they’d seen Hyeonmin head outside. He wasn’t even sure Yeseul had noticed him at first, was tempted to turn on his heel and leave her to it, but maybe she’d caught his figure in the reflection of her mirror compact, her voice ringing out through the silence.

“Jiyeol.”

He tipped his head to her out of obligation, hands fidgeting in his pockets. “Sunbae.”

She scoffed, the sound abrasive, and gestured to the empty space next to her. “Since when have you called me that? Come here, keep me company.”

Jiyeol did what was ordered of him, forearms bracing themselves against the railing that lined the ledge overlooking the streets of central Gangnam. He could hazard a guess as to why she was here already, without even having to ask. He asked anyway.

“Are you and hyung in a fight again?”

His gaze drifted sideways, and he watched as she answered him without ever saying a word. Watched as her eyes rolled and she fished around in her tiny clutch purse for a tube of lipstick, the cap of which was tugged off far too forcefully. 

They said nothing for a while, as Yeseul reapplied the deep nectarine shade she’d grown to favour on her lips and Jiyeol followed the motion, wondering how bad it’d been this time.

“I’m thinking of leaving.”

Really bad, then. Awful. Irreparable. Wait, what?

“Leaving?” His voice sounded airy. Panicked. Yeseul shrugged, sending dark waves tumbling off of her shoulders as she did so. It was only when she shifted in his direction and saw the look on his face that she decided to explain herself.

“I really can’t.. I don’t know. I’m just done, simple as that. Insu is too.” A humourless laugh left her purple-stained lips, eyes not quite meeting Jiyeol’s. “And besides, it’s not like we’d be lasting too much longer anyway. I’m nearly thirty, you know. People don’t stick around to watch.. That.”

He wanted to lean over the edge of the balcony and throw up, dry heave until his eyes stung. He wanted to pry, and pry, and shove his way in for more details. He wanted to protest. He wanted to stop them.

Instead, Jiyeol just nodded. Attempted to accept it. He turned his eyes back to the city, and tried to imagine Na Yeseul and Choi Insu living lives of retired stardom within it. The thought almost made him laugh.

“When are you..”

She didn’t let him finish his sentence. Maybe saying it out loud would make her reconsider, make her change her mind. Make it feel more real. Too real.

“Tomorrow.”

Another laugh rang out too loud, bouncing off of the walls that closed in on either side of them and hurting Jiyeol’s ears. Yeseul was snapping her mirror closed and prying it open again, lipstick discarded back into the clutch. “That’s what I’m going to say when I get in there. ‘I’m thinking of leaving.’ With no hello or anything else.”

Despite himself, Jiyeol smiled at the idea. The panic was still there, but so was Yeseul. He could put it off for now. “Youngshik-hyung’s gonna cry. Like a baby. And Yoonhae-hyung is gonna throw something at you.”

A hand reached over to shove at his shoulder lightly, and he let himself topple forward enough to rest his chin in his palms. 

“I’m leaving, not dying. I’ll call them. Maybe I’ll even let them take me to dinner every once in a while, too.”

He nodded in understanding. They fell quiet again. The sudden feeling of a warm palm landing on the top of his head made him start, hand flying to his chest as Yeseul messed up his (admittedly already a little wild) hair.

“Should I call you too? What kind of noona would I be if I didn’t take my favourite dongsaeng out for a drink, hm?”

With all the wicked mirth in her voice, and teasing smirk on purple-lined lips, she reminded Jiyeol of Ilwoo. Or he supposed it was the other way around. He leaned over and nudged her with his shoulder in return, the comforting weight of her arm draping over the both of them coming not long after. The way he was leaning into her was awkward, tilting to match her height, but he could withstand the discomfort. They watched cars race by and people flit in and out of restaurants, bars, noraebangs; in their twos or threes or more, and on occasion less, without another word shared between them. Nothing more needed to be said.

The moment wouldn’t last forever, and there wouldn’t be another one like it. Jiyeol found he didn’t quite mind as much as he first thought he would. He just—took it all in now. Made the most of the silence and the warmth and the memory of lipstick the colour of ripe nectarines.

it’s far past midnight, and the date on his phone while he dials a number he hasn’t touched in years reads DECEMBER 19, 2023.

His phone screen had a large crack running straight down the centre, and Jiyeol ran an idle fingertip down the line as it rang. The number displayed on the screen: Yijun’s.

He wasn’t expecting him to answer. Jiyeol wasn’t stupid, he’d spent most of his teen and younger adult life with the boy, practically knew him inside and out.

Well. Perhaps not anymore—perhaps not in a while, even, not since that early December evening.

“Are you gonna let them do that? Shove some.. Some rookie actor kid in with us? After how long we’ve all trained?”

No, he wanted to say, to the sudden apparition of seventeen-year-old-Yijun standing before him, eyes bloodshot, hair a mess, words of the past echoing in his ears. He wished he could go back and tell him honestly; now that they were how they were, now that his hindsight was crystal clear. No, I’m not. I’ll fight for this. I’ll speak up. 

But he couldn’t, obviously. So he was here, instead. Sat on a lone bench by the river, as the hour crept later and later, watching his phone ring and half-wishing he hadn’t dialled at all. 

Jiyeol wished he had a cigarette. He wished he’d brought a jacket, he wished he was at Ilwoo’s apartment, he wished Yijun would pick up. He wished he didn’t. He didn’t really know, anymore.

Just as he was anticipating, the phone rang to voicemail. He hung up before the automated voice waiting for him on the other end could drone out its usual message, and stared at the screen afterwards. Stared at his own face looking back up at him. Ran a finger down the crack once more, felt the serrated glass edge against his skin. Then, after another moment, he picked it back up, and called Yijun’s number again. 

Why? It was a question he didn’t know how to answer. Jiyeol was never usually one to pester—once he had the answer he wanted, or lack of one, even, he just backed off. Picking fights wasn’t something he enjoyed, much unlike the person he was currently trying to reach, who seemed like it was all he knew how to do. But he’d gone and called him again anyway, maybe just to really hammer home the realisation that they were practically strangers, now.

Jiyeol almost hung up before the voicemail tone would get the chance to signal the end for him, and then his eyes blew wide after his next glance at the screen.

The call—connected. He checked the contact name again. 宜君. Exactly the same as the day he’d entered it into his phone for the first time. Seconds ticked by, silence from them both, before he snapped back into himself and pressed the phone to his ear.

“Yijun. You—you answered.” It sounded desperate, sounded pathetic, but he let it slide. It was the shock, he told himself.

A noncommittal hum from the other end. “I guess. What do you want?”

There was no point dragging it out. He wasn’t one for wasting time, after all.

“I need to tell you something.”

More silence. Yijun scoffed as if the next steps were obvious, as if their usual rhythm hadn’t been unused and nonexistent for years now, broken with a crack clean down the centre. “Tell me, then. And hurry up, I’m meant to be.. Ah, whatever, it doesn’t matter. Speak, hyung.”

His mind stuck on one part of the sentence. ‘I’m meant to be.. Ah, whatever.’ Jiyeol knew exactly what he was doing, and he knew he shouldn’t bring it back up. He did, anyway.

“Are you going out with Hyeonminnie? Is that it?”

A switch flicked, the edge sharpened. Yijun’s voice was ice when he next replied.

“Don’t call him that. It’s none of your business, anyway. Just tell me already, or I’m really gonna hang up.”

A pause. As if to make it seem he was saying it of his volition, and not because he was practically ordered to. The words then fell from his lips in a rush, almost unintelligible.

“I’m—I’m leaving. The company. Jaguar. All of it.”

Absolute quiet between them. Jiyeol couldn’t even hear Yijun breathing. He felt a sudden flash of déjà vu—to months before, the day he’d sat before Jalen at the restaurant that neither of them had ended up liking and told him the exact thing he was relaying now, over the phone.

“Finally.”

In hindsight, he should’ve really been expecting something of that nature. They weren’t friends, hadn’t been for years. Not a civil word had been exchanged between them since before the start of the end. But it still shook a bitter scoff out of him, eyes regarding his phone screen with disgust.

“As charming as ever, Yijun-ah.”

The remark was met quickly, coldly. “I don’t know what else you were expecting from me, hyung.” And—Yijun had only said what Jiyeol himself was thinking, but it still felt like a hit. 

“Well.” He stood from the bench, wishing he hadn’t left his pack at Ilwoo’s, wishing he hadn’t called Yijun against his better judgement. “You got me there, I guess that one’s on me. It won’t happen again, though. Say hi to Hyeonmin-ah for me, will you?”

The only response he was given was the disconnect tone. 

i guess it’s happening. the early morning of JANUARY 6, 2024:

In his dress shirt, smart slacks, and carefully pressed hair, Jiyeol sort of felt like Jaehee—on the day when he was first introduced to their once-four in particular, looking as if he was split between wanting to bolt and throwing up all over his dress shoes. The passing thought made him want to throw up also, and so he banished it from his mind as quickly as he could, flitting from topic to topic in an attempt to distract himself from it.

He’d almost forgotten the view from the uppermost floor, having not seen it for a good few months now—it was where most of the more central members to the company resided, after all, as well as where meetings were held. Like the meeting he himself had called, and would be walking into.. Soon. They hadn’t given him a time, but on the other hand they hadn’t said he could waltz in and say whatever it was he wanted to say whenever he pleased, either. Seungdae had just assured him with oblivious cheer that Hyojoo would just ‘pop her head out and wave her arms akimbo’ until he got the message and followed her in. So in the meantime Jiyeol was staring rather listlessly out of the window, half focusing on the view and half running back over what he planned to say when he was inside, again and again and again.

He hadn’t written anything down. Nor prepared a speech, of any kind. Jiyeol was planning to enter with grace, maintain his composure, say his piece in a way that hopefully didn’t sound like he’d been rehearsing it for weeks, and walk back out again. Or maybe he’d allow a couple minutes or so for the questions the table sitting before him would surely have. Hyojoo, the most. Jitae close behind. Seungdae—Jiyeol hadn’t a clue in the world. And that was what annoyed him most about it all.

He knew most CEO’s, most people at the top lording over their subjects below, strived to keep an air of mystery about them—to construct yet another barrier between them and those beneath them, to keep them firmly in their places at the bottom, knowing they’d never be able to surpass someone they didn’t even fully know—but Ae Seungdae was something of a special case. It was less mystery, and more unpredictability; and the most irritating kind, at that. He crawled inside the mind and stayed there, a parasite lying in wait to find whatever was being most rooted for when someone came before him, and then took the wheel to drive them in the complete opposite direction; so quickly that one might think it was out of spite. But no. It was pure, unadulterated (although sickening) luck. He got it right every time, knew exactly how to pull strings in a way that would push buttons, raise tensions, start a fight. 

You would think any good CEO would strive to move in the opposite direction, seeing as that seemed like the surefire way to fail. But it was as if Seungdae enjoyed his own misfortune. He was writing his own tragedy, giving himself all the flaws in the book, and stringing the rest along as the background characters in a play that, if it ever came to light—in another universe, a different timeline—probably no one would show up to. 

Before he could continue to entertain himself with imaginings of Ae Seungdae’s failed career as a playwright, movement came from down the corridor. A manicured hand around the door frame, teal-painted nails as always, and brunette hair falling around her shoulders—shorter than he last remembered seeing it. Sim Hyojoo gave him her customary thin smile, and the hand raised as if to wave before it morphed into a quick, aborted motion; a beckoning gesture. Leading him to his death. Or maybe not. She didn’t know why he’d called this meeting, after all. None of them did. 

Jiyeol straightened his tie and set off the short distance down the hallway, inclining his head in silent thanks as the door was held open for him but not making any move to sit down once he’d entered and Hyojoo had returned to her seat to the left of Seungdae. Jitae aimed a grin at him, one that he did not return. 

“Jiyeol,” he was greeted, Seungdae rising to exchange a handshake. “How’ve you been? I’ve been up all night wondering what it is you’d like to speak to us about.”

“I’ve been well, thank you.” He paused to wait until Seungdae had sat again, and took a final deep breath. Flashes of the past few months raced behind his eyelids as he stole one more moment of silence. The raw earnestness in Jalen’s eyes. I’m always here if you need me. Ilwoo’s bedroom, shrouded in darkness and the sounds of their mingled breath. Who am I to judge you? Purple lipstick, a final fight. I’m nearly thirty, you know. Yijun’s bored voice, new salt on old wounds. Finally.

Jiyeol opened his eyes. His hands were steady by his sides, shirt pressed, hair styled. He was fighting a smile away from his lips as he opened his mouth to begin his proposal. He hoped his words gave them déjá vu.

“I’m thinking of leaving.”

[chcrryade]

BYE BYE, BONSOIR—THE LAST IS GONE FOR GOOD. Better, in their case, was not always more. Song Kyumin. Jan 12, 2024.

Big news broke this morning—in the form of a post beginning with the dreaded words ‘Hello, this is JAGUAR.’ Don’t worry, all (or.. I hate to be the bearer of bad news?), CHERRYADE is still going strong. In fact, it was the face of someone we haven’t seen around in a while that we were told we weren’t going to be seeing at all anymore, unless of course he decides to jumpstart his career elsewhere. Former BONSOIR leader Kil Jiyeol has cut ties with his company of sixteen years, and along with this bombshell we were also told that his ex-members Mae Ilwoo (or Mai, as he was most commonly known as) and Oh Hyeonmin had done the same, only for those two it was three years ago in June 2021—not too long before the official announcement of CHERRYADE, the group where Qiao Yijun and Ahn Jaehee were set to be redebuting in.

So.. What gives? It’s not as if anyone knows why he left, however many threads labelled ‘THE TRUTH’ have started being posted acting as if they do. Why even announce it at all? Sure, he was popular, but it’s not as if he’s been putting out any music since his past group’s album—which, for the record, was five years ago. Well, even for his not-doing-anything performance-wise, a few little birdies have told me he was running a little more of the show than anyone would’ve thought. A little insight on creative direction here, scrubbed-off-the-record writing credits there.. Minor things, at first glance, but things all the same. Things that, when all stacked up on top of one another, create a rather large piece of the puzzle that might end up being a tad difficult to fill again now it’s been ripped away so suddenly. No one’s been saying he’s essential to anyone’s success, but if there’s been a certain line that’s stuck with you, a certain concept that stood out, a rhythm that you couldn’t get out of your head.. We’ll just have to wait and see if later rollouts (and subsequent releases) contain those same twangs. 

The second question on everyone’s minds is, of course, the one of what he’ll do next. Start afresh solo? Live the normal life I’m sure more than a few people in the industry now long for? Fall into semi-obscurity, living on only in the occasional Instagram Reel song cover? Well, while the last one is unlikely (his Instagram hasn’t been touched since August 2022, his last post a five-slide-long affair of what looks to be a night out he and Ilwoo shared), the others are all being heavily debated with flimsy evidence to back up their claims. The most outlandish so far are the rumours that he’s going to start up his own label. Where they heard that one, I’ll never know, but if that turns out to be true I’ll have to stand and give Jiyeol a (begrudging, reluctant) round of applause. I mean, it’s not as if I have any experience in the area, but you can just tell from the very idea that building your own record label from the ground up isn’t going to be a walk in the park. Harder than even a jog.

Whatever he ends up doing, it’s a mixed bag as to whether he’ll be receiving the support of his labelmates (old and new—but can you really call them new if they’ve been there for what’s going on three years, now? Maybe even longer?) as he begins this new chapter in his life. He’s been spotted out and about numerous times over the years with various other JAGUAR affiliates—Ilwoo being the most repeat offender, with Jalen a close second and an unnamed but assumed staff member following him—but a few others have made their dislike of him fairly obvious. Can you guess who it is? I bet you’ll get it in one.

No, really. Guess.

Of course, it’s none other than our friend Yijun. Did you get it? His mind is a mystery, the people he can actually tolerate even more so. On the countless occasions in the past that BONSOIR has been brought up in interviews, whenever the leader’s name is mentioned his look of distaste can be spotted from a mile away. I pride myself in being the author of the grandiose reveal that Everybody Hates Jaehee, and in that story I also included the titbit I got from someone or other that the news of the (failed) actor’s arrival caused some.. Friction between the leader and the once-maknae. Friction that, in the end, caused a—what I assume to be irreparable, going off of Yijun’s reaction anytime Jiyeol’s name is brought up in his vicinity—fairly large rift between them. So, in short, I highly doubt he’ll be doing any story-reposting or Bubble-messaging in solidarity with his former groupmate. And neither will the aforementioned Jaehee, who suffered a good eleven months as being treated as more of a ghost in the corner than an actual person by his supposed leader—again, as was detailed in the earlier article (the exposé, I’ve seen some people call it. I’m quite honoured, honestly).

The only people left to turn the question of support towards is you. Whether you even care about what he’s going to do (if anything at all) or not comes first, of course, but if you find you can look past the things he’s done (or even.. Support them? It’s a judgement-free zone here) then here will be a place where you can keep yourself updated on it all if you so wish. Frantic and likely practically incoherent posts from the many fans Jiyeol still has after he makes his first move as an independent entity finally separate from JAGUAR may come as the easier—or even the preferred—source, but here I’ll be chipping in with my two cents on the future situation in a (hopefully) more understandable piece.

Anyway, whatever the outcome of all of this is, it’s a bye-for-now from me. See you in the next one.

[chcrryade]

  ⠀ര ( ˶°ㅁ°)⠀UNWRAP...⠀CLUB SODA! ⠀12112023⠀❘❙❚❙

And here we come to an all-time-favourite era. Despite the name actually meaning what’s basically sparkling water, ‘CLUB SODA’ (released November 12th, 2023) had a very central theme: drinks of the alcoholic kind, to be specific. All ten tracks were named after different types of cocktails, there was at least one bottle of vodka parked up beside them in all of the concept photos, and variety content included the seven running their own bar, creating their own drinks with horribly-disguised innuendos for names and nearly spitting them out when they all tried one another’s, and you could see more and more life slowly drain out of Doyeon’s eyes whenever Yijun leaped at the chance to say his cocktail of choice was, of course, a ‘sex on the beach,’ in very accented English. Their second full album also broke all previous records during its promotion period, another reason it’s universally loved amongst all fans.

⠀ᝪ  .ᐟ⠀⠀▬ ▬ ▬⠀⠀the  stats

RELEASED⠀12 / 11 / 2023

PROMOTIONAL PERIOD⠀4 WEEKS

UNITS SOLD⠀1.2M

WINS⠀6

⠀ᝪ  .ᐟ⠀⠀▬ ▬ ▬⠀⠀the  tracks

COSMO⠀LEAD⠀WRITTEN 잘렌 & 도연 PROD. 주순 & 잘렌

SHOWBIZ⠀WRITTEN 고고 & 하선 PROD. 대진

BELLINI⠀WRITTEN 宜君 & 잘렌 PROD. 주순

MIMOSA⠀WRITTEN 宜君 & 잘렌 PROD. 대진

MIDORI SOUR⠀WRITTEN 고고 & 재희 PROD. 주순

ANGELO AZZURRO⠀WRITTEN  하선 & 해일 PROD. 대진

AVIATION⠀WRITTEN 도연 & 대진 PROD. 대진

GLAMOUR GAL⠀WRITTEN 재희 & 하선 PROD. 대진

KAPPA COLADA⠀WRITTEN 해일 PROD. 주순

DAIQUIRI⠀PROMOTED B-SIDE⠀WRITTEN 대진 & 도연 PROD. 주순

FlipSide⠀⸻⠀the  following  overviews  have  been  outsourced  from  various  netizens.  general  consensus:  ★★★★★

ഒ⠀from  user  jaleon⠀14112023

First on the menu (get it?) is ‘COSMO,’ a Jalen-and-Doyeon-penned track that instantly went down as a fan favourite, something that might be considered a classic in the future with its fun instrumental (that Jalen even helped to produce!) and vocal performance that will likely be replicated on music shows. ‘Showbiz’ is up next, and while some laughed at the name, it was another one that’s been enjoyed by most—with even the rappers of the group contributing to some vocals, and vulnerable confessions written by Gogo and Hasun such as ‘I'm afraid, but I like you’ being made. ‘Bellini’ comes third, yet another track from our duo of Jalen and Yijun, with lyrics both sweet and.. Well, I assume it to be suggestive (because what else is ‘we gonna get na-na-na-na-na-na-na’ supposed to mean?). Nearing the halfway mark, ‘Mimosa’ is yet another contribution from Jalen and Yijun, although this is most definitely leaning towards the innuendo side of things (‘we’re gonna move to this sound’ made it quite obvious). Right in the middle of the album is ‘Midori Sour.’ written by our ‘02z Gogo and Jaehee, it’s a song most definitely meant for summer despite the cold month of November the album was released in. It makes you want to hit the nightclubs with a drink in one hand and.. I don’t know, an ice cream in the other.

Moving on to the latter half of the album, my favourite ‘Angelo Azzuro’ is sixth. A track filled to the brim with bubbly fun (written by Hasun and Haeil, who both helped with aspects of production and arrangement also), it’s an enjoyable experience from start to finish. ‘Aviation’ is next, an easy-to-groove-to song with Doyeon contributing lyrics-wise. Eighth comes in the form of the song ‘Glamour Gal,’ a song (the lyrics by Jaehee and Hasun) that talks of having grown out the naïve child they once were, insisting that ‘but wait, my heart grew as tall as my height.’ Second to last, ‘Kappa Colada’ is another one filled with that summer feeling, and along with the the instantly catchy chorus ‘let me go, let me go, let me go, go, go,’ the lyrics speak of longing for rebellion—with things such as ‘I want something more exciting, give it to me,’ and ‘if it chooses to cross the line, I want it.’ We all want the same thing for you, Haeil! Anyway, finally we have ‘Daiquiri,’ the catchy ending number that encourages listeners to not ‘open your eyes just yet, stay in your dreams’ that was also widely loved, and what I think will end up being the second most performed of the era.

ഒ⠀from  user  doyihae⠀09122023

As I’ve seen many fans online mention before, a large positive for this era has been the theme of ‘CLUB SODA’ and how firmly both the company and the members have stuck to it. They’ve all been fiercely committed to the concept, and the album rollout as a whole was one that everyone (even the creators, it feels like) had a lot of fun with. The timetable was a drinks menu, the concept photos were weird and fantastical and full of colour—as was the firm CHERRYADE signature by now—and the behind-the-scenes videos were met with a lot of love also (watching Hasun trying to climb out of the giant martini glass he’d been posing in was a clip shared around many, many times). Altogether, it felt like a lot more effort had been put into it all than the hastily assembled mini album that was ‘SWEET (SOUR).’ Fans have even noticed that the cocktail-named tracklist went down in a (mostly) rainbow order, with the last two being white or clear drinks. They’ve all looked to be having the time of their lives in all of the extra content provided, and really it’s just felt like a great time to be alive. ‘War is over!’ I saw one person exclaim online, and I couldn’t help but agree.

Negatives-wise.. Like ‘SWEET (SOUR),’ there weren’t too many. Even Yijun and Jaehee have seemed to be on semi-good terms, apart from the one moment in a group interview where the latter brought up BONSOIR and Yijun appeared to go out of his way to (even more than he usually did) not interact with the second-youngest at all. Not even a look in his direction. Maybe time doesn’t heal all wounds (or maybe it has more to do with the people—person?—in the group, rather than them as a whole). Nearing the end of this promotional period, though, whispers have slowly begun to arise of things in the company being unsettled. People were saying there was commotion, unrest and distrust, but when asked what exactly it was about they all drew blanks. All we can really do is hope everything becomes a little clearer sooner rather than later.

ഒ⠀from  user  hasunshine⠀10122023

In terms of styling and outfits, they were about what you’d expect from the gaudy, nightlife sort of theme going on. Club clothes, cutouts galore, and rings upon rings upon necklaces upon everything else you could think of jewellery-wise. Colours, of course, and glowsticks too. Sparkles and fruit and flowers and a surprising amount of lava lamps. Glowing and multicoloured bottle keychains, one bottle opener keychain (given to Jalen, thank god, because if they had bestowed it to Yijun he may have attempted to use it as a weapon if he got too irritated), and also a lot of animal print. Ibiza tourists meet buy-one-get-nine-free jewellery sale meets a tropical bar that also works as an aquarium. I hope that sums it up accurately enough for you.

Like I’ve said many times before, ‘CLUB SODA’ has been my absolute favourite era out of all of them so far. I was one of the many screaming and retweeting and reposting about the newest concept photo of Haeil lounging in a comically-oversized champagne coupe, or Gogo confidently naming his new drink a ‘sex in the ocean’ even if it was just lemonade and blue food colouring. I’d go back and go through it all again if I could.

(¬_¬) ⠀at  a  glance  ⠀𝄂𝄂𝄀𝄁𝄃𝄂𝄂𝄃⠀  clubsoda.jpg ⠀(  OO3  )

[chcrryade]

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR @chcrryade!

A little poster with much love from me! Merry Christmas, JJ! 🥳🎉💫💝

[chcrryade]

A MOMENT IN TIME: NOVEMBER 20TH, 2024.

'bye.n.bye.n', the first and only solo EP released by Xu Jiahang, at the time LOOPiN's J.J under RareRhythm Entertainment, came out as a surprise that proceed many: exclusively digital at first (but gaining a controversial limited edition printing in the later year), it was announced on the news 24 hours before hitting streaming platforms. The title, 'bye and bye and', was also read by many as 'buy in buy in'; an assumed tongue in cheek joke about the many, many accusations of being industry planted into K-Pop, which releasing an entire solo project only months into a new company from apparently nothing didn't help.

But most shocking of all, on the same day, J.J was confirmed to be on his way to debut as an actor in mainland China, taking a temporary break from activities with LOOPiN from January up until May 2025.

Promotions for the EP included one single 'farewell' fansign in South Korea on December 10th, Jiahang's birthday, and a 'welcome' one in China exactly a month later, before he focused solely on filming his fantasy period drama, 'Sealed Gates Of The Golden Heaven'. 'HUSH RUSH' and 'DELULU' were the only tracks that received MVs. The features of 'bye.n.buy.n' included J.J's newest labelmate TVBU's Aaron and IDOLMAKER's Daewon, O.z's longtime DJ and life partner Nico under her alterego NICEBNICO, as well as CHERRYADE's Jalen. Despite having minimal writing and co-writings credits on any of the songs, Jiahang came on record to say the EP was deeply and embarrassingly personal; with its first scrapped title being 'Little Heartbreak Mixtape'. It became an iNSYNC cult classic immediately, even though it pretty much didn't conquer the masses; weirdly enough, J.J seemed to be very at peace with that... Uh.

TRACKLIST: 01 - HUSH RUSH. 02 - WITHORWITHOUTU. 03 - ME ON (feat. TVBU's Aaron, Idolmaker's Daewon). 04 - DELULU. 05 - IDOLIZE (feat. NICEBNICO). 06 - FEELING LUCKY (feat. @chcrryade's Jalen). 07 - SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT.

[chcrryade]

genuinely, leave me alone, bella. you are a bitch made coward who has been harassing and STALKING me for well over a year now. you have now made your friends look awful because you're a pussy who can't say shit to my face. you are still hung up on me after not being in this community for years. get some help, genuinely or buck tf up and ACTUALLY confront me instead of being a wannabe mean girl behind anon. let me publicly apologize to lia for accusing her of sending the anons. genuinely, i am very sorry and i hope you get better friends who won't set you up like this.

[chcrryade]

  ⠀ര ( ˶°ㅁ°)⠀UNWRAP...⠀SWEET (SOUR)! ⠀20052023⠀❘❙❚❙

More than a year after ‘TASTE TEST’ came the second mini album and third release overall: ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ on the 20th of May 2023. You may be wondering the reason behind such a large gap between the two projects, and the answer lies behind the November 2022 JUST4U reunion. The duo, as they can’t go more than ten minutes within each other’s company without starting a fight, caused a scene right there in the lobby. Everyone’s ears were pressed to the wall (and some phones were admittedly held up in their direction), and it seems those of the press were, too—as it got through to them not a day later, and for the first time in a good six years since they’d disbanded, Na Yeseul and Choi Insu’s names were splashed all over the headlines again. An apology that no one really believed was sincere was released just to calm everyone down, and after that JAGUAR went quiet. And stayed quiet. Fans were worried this was the end, that a disbandment notice was just going to be quietly released and they’d be shoved back under the carpet, second chances be damned—but the members themselves wanted a comeback just as much as the people, and so after Doyeon apparently took a stand and pushed for preparations to be made, the public finally got the announcement of ‘SWEET (SOUR).’ The concept was carnivals, raves after hours, and (if we’re being honest) probably some hallucinogens, too. Most people loved every second of it, despite the haste with which it was obviously plastered together.

⠀ᝪ  .ᐟ⠀⠀▬ ▬ ▬⠀⠀the  stats

RELEASED⠀20 / 05 / 2023

PROMOTIONAL PERIOD⠀2 WEEKS

UNITS SOLD⠀950K

WINS⠀1

⠀ᝪ  .ᐟ⠀⠀▬ ▬ ▬⠀⠀the  tracks

TALK2ME⠀WRITTEN 宜君 & 도연 PROD. 대진

BOYFRIEND⠀LEAD⠀WRITTEN 재희 & 주순 PROD. 주순

SAY THE WORD⠀WRITTEN 하선 & 잘렌 PROD. 주순

UP⠀WRITTEN 宜君 & 잘렌 PROD. 대진

ALL NIGHT⠀PROMOTED B-SIDE⠀WRITTEN 해일 & 고고 PROD. 대진

FlipSide⠀⸻⠀the  following  overviews  have  been  outsourced  from  various  netizens.  general  consensus:  ★★★☆☆

ഒ⠀from  user  yisoir⠀23052023

‘TALK2ME’ comes first, a rather desperate-sounding plea for the audience to do as the title asks of them, telling them that the members are ‘nothing without you.’ It came as a surprise to many that Yijun assisted in the writing of these lyrics (assisted by Doyeon), and people began to speculate it was more aimed at one person in particular (even if no one had a clue who that person may have been). Second, and what I’m guessing will be the music show song, is ‘Boyfriend,’ another quite straightforward love song, assuring those listening that they ‘can be the one for you’ written by Jaehee (in quite a shift from the introspective piece that was ‘Replay’). Right in the middle is the sweeter tune ‘say the word,’ penned by Jalen and Hasun and letting listeners know that ‘there's nothing that I wouldn't do’ for them.

‘UP,’ second to last, is my personal favourite by a mile. Written by our China line Jalen and Yijun once more, they deliver a much softer and more tender track than the sensual anthem that was ‘GIMME’ back in ‘TASTE TEST.’ The heartfelt confession of ‘I think I’m in love with you’ in the chorus really cemented it as a favourite, as well as the vocal performance from all of the seven. Finally, they flip the sentimental mood on its head with ‘All Night,’ considered by some to be a companion piece to ‘All Day’ back from their debut. You guessed it, it’s their somewhat mandatory sex song—and don’t try to deny it, because the crooning of ‘I just want to feel good, all night long’ made it all too obvious. At least we know Haeil is getting some, I guess?

ഒ⠀from  user  haeilade⠀06052023

The masses have evidently been awaiting their return to music as much as the members themselves, and so the mini album was met with much love from all—with barely a single track being too dunked on, bar from maybe ‘TALK2ME’ a few times. The rest are firm favourites, instant classics in most fan’s books (and, again, rightly so). They’ve seemed mostly happy in every piece of extra content, and a few fans have noticed that most of it came from the seven themselves—in the form of self-uploaded vlogs on their Youtube, lives, and extensive posts on their Instagram accounts—rather than the company in most cases. The inside jokes, easy conversation, and complete lack of inhibition around one another (well.. With the exception of a couple. It shouldn’t take a genius to figure out which) led fans to believe the bond they’ve made is one that doesn’t have an abrupt end put to it when work hours are over. 

Surprisingly, there hasn’t been too many negatives during the promotional period of ‘SWEET (SOUR).’ Maybe because there wasn’t too much time for there to be, or maybe because the reunion some months prior was all the negativity they needed. The one thing that’s caused a little bit of a stir was the more publicised shots Yijun and Jaehee have been taking at one another back-and-forth throughout most content put out, subtle in some places and unable to be more blatantly obvious in others. It’s of course well known they weren’t the bestest of friends prior to this, and never had been, but it’s the first time they’ve gone about making the tension between them so known. Some have been speculating a nasty fight had just occurred before promotions began, and so they hadn’t had the appropriate amount of time needed to properly cool off and pretend to be civil while on camera, but it’s anyone’s guess, really.

Apart from that, there hasn’t been anything too serious going on—something to be thankful for in some people’s cases, those who just want them all to get along and make music, but not to those who look forward to the drama more than anything else.

ഒ⠀from  user  hasunshine⠀04062023

When it came to styling, there was a sort of blend going on. One third neon (and very mesh) rave-ready outfits, one third of what I think was a sort of shady-looking street criminal type of energy (the type of person you knew would probably key your car and leave an awful tag under it just to really rub it in), and one third.. Fair. That’s the only way I can think to describe it. Not dressing as if they are going to the fair, as that would probably be very boring, but more as if they were attempting to look like the rides themselves. Still very neon, but not as rave-esque. It actually got a little tech-y, with added details such as a strip of rainbow LED lights built into one of Gogo’s stage outfits—which came with a remote that allowed him to control the modes as he pleased. He nearly both gave Hasun epilepsy and ran out of battery before they’d even been on stage to perform. 

On that note, I think that’s all there is to say about the ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ era. Again, it’s not at the very top on my list of favourites, but ‘UP’ has been on my repeat playlist since it dropped.

(¬_¬) ⠀at  a  glance  ⠀𝄂𝄂𝄀𝄁𝄃𝄂𝄂𝄃⠀  sweetsour.jpg ⠀(  OO3  )