remade

me:

Today they have the day off… sort of. The members are hanging out around a massive conference table in one of SM Entertainment’s four buildings in the Gangnam district of Seoul, South Korea. The walls are lined with posters of some of the company’s many iconic K-Pop groups: EXO, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, Super Junior, TVXQ. Later, leader and vocalist Kun and dancer WinWin will head off to an English lesson together, and dancer Hendery will attend drum practice (“I’m just learning for fun,” he says, nodding earnestly, “I think it’s important to have hobbies!”), and they have this interview, of course.

But there are no official appearances to make in front of fans or cameras, which means that they’re makeup-free and styled in their own clothing, sipping drinks from the cafe downstairs and making themselves comfortable in their seats. Dancer Ten will, in partnership with rapper YangYang, translate his members thoughts and opinions to English and has practically draped himself over the table with anticipation, blocking rapper Lucas, who is now slouched in his chair, hidden from view. YangYang and Kun’s faces are partially obstructed by black face masks, the kind used to combat pollution, or for K-pop idols, to maintain anonymity in public (and sure, they could be thinking about pollution, too). They’ve pulled them down to their chins for this chat, but still look ready to get up and walk out onto the streets of Seoul at any moment.

The room is relaxed, and the seven of them are teasing each other in Chinese, Korean and English. When Ten’s widely-known nickname for Hendery is brought up as a topic of discussion, Kun shrieks with laughter. Ten acts exasperated (“Ah, you’re gonna bring that up again!”) but immediately begins an evaluation of each member. “Shrek is my favorite animation and Hendery is Donkey because…” “Because I am annoying!” Hendery shouts from the end of the table. “Because his characteristics and the way he plays around with us are very similar to Donkey,” concludes Ten. “It’s because he talks a lot,” admits YangYang. Ten continues, “YangYang resembles Puss In Boots,” (YangYang nods brightly, probably because Puss In Boots is his favorite character) “and Xiaojun is like the pink dragon that’s in love with Donkey.” Xiaojun, the group’s main vocalist, looks baffled by the comparison but doesn’t protest.