red flags

it’s a consequence of being in a group that she’s never going to love everything they do. they don’t ask for her say as one of four and so each comeback, when they get them, is reaching into a bowl of candy and hoping she doesn’t pull out something that’s already expired.

she’s not always lucky, but she perseveres anyway. a moon doesn’t quit easily, and seolhwa may not be the most shining example among the moon children, but she’s a moon through and through nonetheless.

so, she doesn’t like the song. and that’s fine. she doesn’t complain to the staff or pout during recording. lawyers don’t like every case they take and doctors don’t agree with the life decisions of every patient they have to treat. being an idol is a job just as any other and one day, she’ll have solo music where she can put her stamp of approval on each and every music release, but for now, that’s a job above her paygrade.

luckily, one area femme fatale’s team rarely falls completely short lies in styling.

fashion had been an interest of seolhwa’s since her school days of having her parents called for altering her school uniform outside of the dress code, so she has no problem giving her input when she’s brought into a fitting or standing face to face with her stylist.

for all criticism they might face, femme fatale’s outfits are rarely at the forefront of any hate brigade they’re met with, outfits picture perfectly chosen for each concept to define it as an era of its own. 

fittings are a bright light in the midst of a process that has been dull at others times, recording the same lyrics she hates over and over again serving as a reminder that she’s an employee with a job to do before she’s some wildly innovative artist.

it’s when the stylist pulls out a floral moschino dress with the puffy dreams of her childhood disney princess dreams that seolhwa insists that it’s perfect. she launches into explaining herself before the stylist can get a word in edge-wise and it leaves the older woman laughing, assuring seolhwa that she’ll set what she can do.

the other look she falls in love with has her sporting a scoop neck bandeau under a yellow and pink plaid set. when her stylist suggests she tries unbuttoning the top save for one button, it’s more obviously sexy than is usually reserved for her as the designated elegant and artsy girl, and seolhwa almost expects for it to be taken away for one of the other girls to try on until she’s asked what she thinks.

tempering her expectations, she’s practical. “it’s the perfect type of cheeky sexy for the song, but it wouldn’t be practical to dance in.”

“no, but i was thinking that would be for the teaser photos.”

fashion is something seolhwa has valued since she was young. her mother was very interested in fashion and staying on trend with her appearance (and still is), so that’s something seolhwa saw modeled and naturally took to heart.

as the only daughter of her parents, seolhwa was the one her mom spoiled with gifts of designer clothes on birthdays and holidays. before seolhwa was able to shop for herself, she had brands like dior, burberry, and gucci in her closet. her parents’ friends would gush over how fashionable she was for a little kid when in truth she’d had little say in what she was put in or the clothes she owned.

once seolhwa was old enough to begin to pick out clothes for herself, though, she didn’t lose her love for designer brands. her mom favored more classic and vintage styles than seolhwa herself did and her pick of brands and styles changed, but her wishlist for birthdays always included new designer items that her mom would happily buy her because it was one point in which they could relate to each other even while seolhwa’s interests branched out into areas like music and art that were less familiar to both of her parents.

since becoming an idol, fashion has become an even more important part of seolhwa’s life. fans look to femme fatale for fashion inspiration because of the way they’re marketed and it made seolhwa more aware than ever of her outfit choices and the impact her style can have. she’s only come to pay more attention to her style because of this and everything she wears has thought put into it, from her airport fashion to her workout clothes to her pajamas.

seolhwa’s style is typically very traditionally feminine. she loves dresses and skirts, lace, pastels, florals, and crops tops. more often than not, you’ll find her dressed very in line with current feminine fashion trends with a touch of classic vintage style, but a part of her closet leans more laidback boho as well and if she’s practicing or hanging out without the expectation of cameras, it’s not unusual for her to dress in a crop top and sweats. she likes an edgier look with black leather, chokers, and band tees, too, but it’s less in line with her image so she’s not officially styled that way as often.

13. if you could become a model or ambassador for any brand, what would you choose?

“I want to sign a deal with a luxury brand or two. Prada, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Versace, Valentino. I’ll leave my options open as long as the brand isn’t hideous and I can connect with it artistically. Besides that, I want to be a soju model one day. Chamisul or Chum Churum are the obvious choices there.”

14. if you could be on any variety show, which one (or which type of one) would you want to be on?

“A music or art variety show or one based on puzzles and problem-solving. Why not both? I can do both, so it’s a shame I haven’t really gotten to show it. Shows with physical competitions aren’t really my style, but at this point, I’d take the offer to have something to do and to show my face on television.”

15. if you were offered the chance to become a ceo of an entertainment company, new or existing, would you take it? why or why not?

26. what is your favorite part of being an idol? 

“Being influential. That could sound conceited or attention-starved, but everyone wants to be in a position where people care what they do and have to say. This only applies to be an idol in a successful group, but people listen to our music. That’s what any creative wants: someone to listen.”

27. would you rather be incredibly famous with a terrible reputation and hated by most or be fairly unknown with a good reputation and adored by those who know of you? why?

“Real life is never that binary. There are any number of people out there well-loved and well-known and likewise for those no one’s heard of who exist in a world of scorn. There’s a lot to be said for a good reputation, just as there’s a lot to be said for being adored. If I had to? I’d be famous with a bad reputation.”

28. what moment in your career are you proudest of so far?

“Saying debuting to a question like this makes you sound like the idol version of someone who peaked in high school. I won’t say that, but our debut era was a great source of pride for me. Every time we come back with a new song and it does well, I feel proud. Holding our first ever concert is probably my proudest moment so far.”

29. what have you learned about yourself and/or society since becoming a celebrity?

“Everyone learns about themselves and society as they grow up. Whether they’re a celebrity or not, everyone is always learning, so there’s hundreds of answers I could give to this. As far as what I’ve learned as a result of being a celebrity, I’ve learned just how much I don’t like being limited by outside forces. I don’t want to be told what to be or what to do. I’d like to decide that myself.”

30. what would you like to change about how society views or treats idols?

+ Day Twenty-Five: What does your muse want to be remembered for in the idol world? Do they want to be remembered for their vocal prowess? Their image? Their dancing skills? Their scandals?

This would be a hard question for Seolhwa to answer specifically. She wants to prove herself worthy of adoration and lauded for her skills, but it’s not like she has a specific goal of being known as the best singer in the industry (she isn’t) or a gamechanger for idols as a whole (she won’t be). If asked, she’d probably say she just wants to be successful, make music while she can, challenge herself, and make a good living for herself. Ultimately, if she’s remembered, she wants to be remembered as an idol who was good in a number of different areas and had some kind of impact on culture.

+ Day Twenty-Six: Does your muse ever regret becoming an idol? Do they ever think about what they would be doing instead if they lived a normal life? If they could go back in time, would they do everything all over again? Or would they end up doing something else?

Sometimes. In becoming an idol, she threw away the kind of secure and respectable future most would never dream of giving up as easily as she did. Sure, debuting as an idol under Gold Star is a guaranteed success, too, but she’s not looked at the same way she would be if she’d become an engineer or politics. Femme Fatale doesn’t keep her as busy as she wants to be. As someone who thrives on having her mind constantly occupied, there are a lot of days she’s wished she’d taken her original path instead. She doesn’t know that she’d go back and do something differently, though. It’ll take a few more years for her to decide that.

+ Day Twenty-Seven: After working hard on promotions, your muse is given the chance to take a two week vacation anywhere in the world at any time they want, with nobody bothering them. Where would they go and when? Why would they want to take their vacation there? If they had the opportunity to bring three other people, who would they bring?

She’d go to Paris because it’s her favorite city she’s been to and she wants to spend more time there. The marketable answer is to say she’d bring her members, but in truth, she’d probably bring her best friend Gyuri and her two dogs, Honey and Mocha.

+ Day Twenty-Eight: Talk about your muse’s low point in life. Why was this a low point in their life? What kind of challenges did they face and how did they feel about this? Were they able to overcome it? If it is still ongoing, are they working on overcoming these challenges?

Seolhwa likes to think her iron will is to strong to have had a true low point, but she’s had a few. One was during her training period when her relationship with her parents was strained and there was no promise of anything she’d given up her initial plan for. Others would have been during Femme Fatale’s long breaks between releases in 2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021. Each long break made her increasingly restless and doubtful about if she was spending her time the best she could.

+ Day Twenty-Nine: Talk about your muse’s most meaningful moment as an idol. This is what they feel so far is the highest point in their life and where they’ve never been happier. Recall the memory and describe it; what happened and how did they feel?

The immediate success Femme Fatale was met with was a high point, as was Femme Fatale’s performance at Coachella. Those were the two moments in Seolhwa’s idol career that it most felt like everything she’d worked for and sacrificed has been worth it.

+ Day Thirty: Think about your muse’s life down the road. Where would they be and what would they be doing? Would they still be in the entertainment industry? Would they settle down and have a family?