#cnblue

Killer Joy Challenge with Hongjoong

You guys!!! I saw CNBLUE in Auckland on the 17th, and it was amazing. After following them for almost 17 years now, getting to hear and see them live instead of through a screen rearranged my molecules right down to my soul.

What I loved most is that they are exactly as they present online. I love having that validated. Also what do you mean Lee Jungshin is that pretty in real life? I'm Minhyuk and Yonghwa obsessed, so when I swivelled to look at him for the first time, I was genuinely surprised 🤣 I think I said to @this-song-thats-only-for-you "omg Jungshin is so good looking" about 5 times bahaha. She has good taste in her bias.

Yonghwa's vocal talent is absolutely unmatched, and Minhyuk was insane on the drums. Ahh, I just keep watching my admittedly poorly filmed videos over and over reliving the experience.

Thank you CNBLUE for finally coming to NZ so I could have this once in a lifetime opportunity 💙

Ah, so he's under FNC - same company as P1harmony! Sir, I hope you get more rest than your younger bros, because oh boy, Piwon need a month-long break so bad.

Aw, look at our lil tangerine getting to meet one of the people who shaped his teenage years! So cute!

It's also always really sweet to hear him talk about his childhood. He must've lived near his school if he could get there by bike~

Yonghwa's face when he heard Hongjoong recruited his family to help him get concert tickets for CNBLUE is fucking sending me lmaoooo

The way Hongjoong keeps shrinking and fidgeting with his sleeves, his pant legs - he's getting so shy, oh my gosh. He's so precious when he's nervous and excited 🥹

Nah, man, this is so damn endearing, I can't 😭 Look at this cutie, he's so happy showing off his nerdy knowledge!

He proved his super fan status!!! Look at him go!!!

Less than seven minutes in and our Captain won over all hearts in the room AND got himself a borderline love confession from the guy he's been looking up to for over a decade! That's what I call powerful charms and charisma!

The way TwentyOnePilots' new album is just sprinkled throughout his playlist makes me wonder if he falls for songs over time or if he just doesn't like the way it looks when all of them are in a row (I'm definitely the latter).

But maaan, I remember when TOP first blew up because they were the opening act for Fall Out Boy's tour and really left an impression on the audience. I saw them live during the 'Blurryface' tour and it was fun as hell.

FUN FACT: They got really popular in South Korea around the same time as in the US which is why 'Tear In My Heart' opens with the line "안녕하세요" as a nod to their fans there~

Aww Hongjoong's breathless lil baby cackle here is everything ♥

I'LL BE A ROCKTEEZ TRUTHER TILL THE DAY I DIE ISTG

I haven't forgotten about that My Chemical Romance cover, Hongjoong! I'm patient with this kind of stuff, but I never forget!

"They say when people like each other..." "They start to resemble each other..."

First pointing out all the similarities and now we're finishing each other's sentences here, huh, guys? Damn, we're moving quickly. Give them a few days and they'll adopt a dog together and start looking up bathroom tiles for their new house.

But no genuinely, this lil goober is such a master flatterer - I love him so much.

By the way, the story told after this by - and about - trainee Hongjoong was first shared with us by his mother in a letter. It was quite heartbreaking so maybe grab some tissues but I timestamped the video here for you:

Shitty underground dance practice room, ten people on staff, only fried rice to eat, AND turning two heaters on at once shut down all computers? Those six months alone surrounded by exclusively older adults must have been borderline hell for poor teenage Hongjoong. It's really no wonder he started thinking they might all be out to scam him somehow.

Poor Eden too though. He also had it hella hard as someone in his mid-twenties who never signed up to be a teacher and just wanted to make music.

I'm so glad everything worked out for these guys for real.

It's really nice to hear that KQ's CEO still apologizes to Hongjoong for what it was like back then though. And the way he regularly buys them presents now, gave them a massive bonus last year, and has upped how much they get paid consistently is honestly music to my ears.

Like yessss, they and your staff built this company - thank you for acknowledging that. That's how it should be!

Is KQ perfect? Nope. No company is and none ever will be because they're run by humans who are flawed, but I do see them try and that's already more than I can say about the vast majority of companies in this cursed industry.

GOLDEN COMPANY BABY HONGJOONG! Imagine getting hired as a middle aged person and this '98-liner is your senior - that's so unique!

But yeah, I absolutely get why Hongjoong would want to steer clear of that so he can feel exclusively like an artist. I mean, damn, he's already got enough on his mind as a captain, rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, dancer, and someone who still hopes to explore his other interests.

If he were to also start worrying about the behind the scenes again, he'd probably start spiraling.

Over a decade into his career and bro is now questioning the logistics of his earliest post-debut days. That's what chatting with Hongjoong will do to you, I guess ölaksjdfölaksdjfölaksdöasd

Watching Ateez members imitate their CEO will never get boring. Seonghwa especially always does it with such an overly specific and consistent pitch.

Thank you, Mr. Jung, sir, for making Hongjoong giggle like that. At last, my heart has fully healed the damaged from those three heart attacks I had over the last few years.

No, legit though, that was the purest sound I've ever heard. My ears have been blessed, my heart is full, my soul is warm, and some of the evil in the world has finally been defeated.

Watching leaders bond over the necessity of nagging their members is the funniest shit I've seen all day, oh my gosh

The Matz-are-the-parents dynamic was really so present back then that Seonghwa even spoke for the younger ones and guided Hongjoong to the room after giving him a heads up 😭

Genuinely though, it's so understandable that Hongjoong was so strict at first. I mean, he was so young, so stressed, so desperate to have all of them achieve their dreams together as a group. His worry and need to make sure they'd have no scandals that could shatter their dreams made him overly strict.

The members must have understood that too since they bore with it for so long until they simply couldn't anymore.

This whole conversation must have been one of the major stepping stones that turned them into the excellent communicators they are now.

It's so cute to watch Yonghwa put together the pieces in reverse, like:

'Oh, the seven year contract renewal is different!'

'Ah, so it came about because your CEO cares about you!'

'Ah, so you adapted for your members because they're all so kind!'

'Ah, so you renewed the contract for seven years because your company cares about you and your members are kind so you all just work together really well!'

This reminds me of the pact my sister and I have: depending on whichever one of us dies first, the other will make sure the funeral will be goofy as hell and the playlist will be full of our favorite songs mixed in with total meme songs like 'Who's the (Bat)Man' by Patrick Stump or 'In Love With A Creeper' by Kurtis Conner and Danny Gonzales.

Because you know, as someone who's been haunted before, I believe in ghosts and I refuse to watch my loved ones suffer when they should by laughing at the dumbass I was while still alive.

From Hongjoong spending all his money on others without thinking, over Hongjoong Time™, all the way to Ateez's inability to not throw up peace signs during election week - we're really covering all the meme bases here öalsdkjfaölsdkaölsd

Damn, this was genuinely such a fun and lovely video to watch, so I hope y'all will check it out in full if you haven't already: