Photo = B.WAVE ENTERTAINMENT

 

[Hanteo News = Reporter KANG SUYOUNG] ONEUS’ KEONHEE shed tears during the group’s comeback interview.

 

ONEUS met with Hanteo News at a cafe in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the 21st and talked about its 12th mini album ‘FIRST LIGHT : 井.’ On this day, KEONHEE suddenly began to tear up while talking about moments when the role of an adult is needed within the team, drawing attention. KEONHEE said, “It was a great blessing that there were many good adults around us,” adding, “I felt grateful because there are many good adults around us who love ONEUS and the ONEUS members together, and who support us with one heart and one mind.”

 

He continued, “Seeing the members around me and the staff members who always support us and work hard gave me great strength and gratitude, and seeing the fans who have supported us for a long time made me strongly want to make sure this love does not go to waste,” adding, “The support and love we have received are never small, so I thought the way I can repay that gratitude is by doing what I am good at and staying by their side for a long, long time. That is what I am trying hard to do.” LEE DO, who was beside him, looked after him by asking, “Do you have tissues?” and HWANWOONG brought him tissues, drawing laughter by saying, “Please write in the article, in parentheses after KEONHEE, ‘boo-hoo.’ Say he kept crying.” KEONHEE added, “It is because I am the only F in the team.”

 

Earlier, the members also talked about how roles are divided within the team. KEONHEE said, “Our team has really good role distribution, and when someone is lacking or someone is able to step forward, I think the member who can do it just steps up without thinking too much.” He continued, “When the five of us gather our opinions, no one hesitates, and all of us come together with one heart. When I hear stories from other teams, I feel grateful for that, and I thought it was lucky to have met good people and be able to work together.”

 

HWANWOONG said, “I think our role distribution is flexible, and there were some trials and errors because of that, but now that we have talked a lot with one another, it has been fine when resolving problems,” adding, “Should I call it the world of adults? In situations like meeting people for the first time, KEONHEE especially took the lead.” He continued, “We have an unspoken rule that if one person is good at something, we push that person forward, and I was grateful because KEONHEE handled a lot of the difficult, headache-inducing things.” LEE DO drew laughter by saying, “If you are good at it, you do it.”

 

The B-side tracks the members participated in also contain affection for the team. KEONHEE said, “Track 5, ‘We run for youth,’ is a song given to us by Swedish Laundry sunbaenims, and when we first received the demo, it was so good and already very complete. But because I wanted it to fit ONEUS’ situation a little better, I revised the lyrics.” He continued, “I thought it was a song needed when the members are struggling, feeling emotionally unwell, or lacking confidence, and find stability in the fact that we have one another. So I revised it around the things I wanted to say to the members,” adding, “It is a song that I think would make us cry our eyes out if we performed it on stage.”

 

LEE DO said, “Because I have always liked working on songs so much, I kept doing it steadily even when it was not for an album, and as soon as I received the theme for this album, I immediately started writing a new song,” adding, “With ONEUS starting anew, I made a fan song for TOMOON, our fandom, who waited for the five of us, and I thought a lot about writing a song that would be both touching enough to make KEONHEE cry as a concert ending song and also exciting.” He continued, “It is a song I wrote within an hour or two as soon as I decided to write it, and I think it came out that well,” introducing track 4, ‘Our Story That Will Never End.’ KEONHEE said, “When the members participate in songs or bring in songs they have pitched, I can feel that they are all thinking about the team and the members, so I have a lot of affection for those songs,” adding, “This album especially had many of those works, and because the messages are also directed toward fans, I became even more immersed. Since it is our first full-group album in a long time, it feels even more precious and dear to me.”

 

As for the most memorable moment from the past seven years, HWANWOONG chose ‘Road to Kingdom : Ace of Ace.’ HWANWOONG said, “That was the season when the members started talking about realistic matters, and looking back now, I think there was a slump for our team and the people at the company,” adding, “As we kept working hard to release albums and go on tours, I think there were also parts of our activities that had become fixed, and we thought a lot about how we could find a breakthrough.” He continued, “It was a place where we had to put our career so far on the line and compete with junior artists, and rankings were given very cruelly, so we had a lot of worries. But all the members thought that taking on a challenge rather than staying complacent would be a good stimulus for both the team and the fans, so we went back to our original mindset and worked hard, holding meetings and searching for materials through the night one by one.” He added, “It was a major episode that allowed us to strengthen the bond between us and TOMOON,” adding, “The fierce determination to create a better future with TOMOON somehow has continued from then until now.”

 

They also shared their anticipation for the tour. KEONHEE said, “Last year, the four of us worked hard to fill SEOHO hyung’s empty space on stage, but this time, we are going on tour as a complete five-member group,” adding, “The fact that the five of us are standing on stage together is exciting in itself. We are preparing for the concert now, and while practicing songs we have not done in a long time, the process of saying things like, ‘How was it back then?’ and practicing itself is fun, so I think this energy will be delivered from the stage to the audience.” He continued, “We will give a lot of good energy, so I hope many people come, and we really want to satisfy fans with the five-member stages they have waited for.” Asked whether the fourth track he mentioned earlier would be the ending song, he hinted, “I cannot tell you what the last song is,” adding, “It is a setlist we thought about and made with a different atmosphere and a different format, and we wanted to break the assumption of what a ONEUS concert would be like.”

 

Their determination going forward was also special. XION said, “I have one cute goal. I heard the difference between young ‘keke’ and old ‘keke’ is whether you read # as the Korean character ‘井’ or as a hashtag,” adding, “Now, when people see this symbol, I hope we can become a group that immediately makes them think, ‘Oh, this is ONEUS’ album. ONEUS’ songs are good. ONEUS sings well.’” HWANWOONG added, “One-keke sounds good. We will try to become One-keke.”

 

ONEUS’ 12th mini album ‘FIRST LIGHT : 井’ will be released today at 6 PM.

 

grace@hanteo.com