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onomatopagu-et-cie · 1 year ago

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The Killing Vote (ep. 1-5 notes)

I’ve been enjoying this drama and I wanted to post some thoughts about it! This last week’s episode kept me on my toes! It’s a crime they only air a single episode per week, truly a crime aaaa

I don’t really know if people watching this drama are on tumblr but I’ll post here anyway!

Have a nice week!!!

(SPOILERS UP TO EPISODE 5!!!!)

I love Joohyun’s relationship with Kwon Seokju so far, the scene where she played for him Mozart’s Requiem (if I’m not mistaken) while we see her hanging Narae’s stuffed bunny was soothing! Seeing a different approach than Kim Muchan is nice!

KMC’s relationship with KSJ is really intriguing: we only get KMC’s (quite unreliable, that’s what makes it even more interesting!) pov in the first episodes with almost no dialogue between the two of them, and the recent episodes give us another side to their story through KSJ! I really wonder how their relationship got soured (especially from KMC) to the point KMC advises Joohyun not to get too close and get manipulated by KSJ: besides his own guilt for not being able to save Narae in time nor catch her murderer and the fact that the one he looked up to killed Byun Wootaek, something else must’ve happened for it to get THIS sour. What is going onnnnnnn? Or is it all an act? (and KMC/Park Haejin has some sad puppy eyes on par with Im Siwan's and Jung Haein's I can't haha) He affirms KSJ is arrogant and wouldn’t hesitate to take the law in his own hands if it can’t solve the problem while he himself pushes investigations with ways off the record to arrest culprits. He shows a bitter attitude in front of KSJ and Joohyun most of the time when he talks about him, but at the same time he also confided his guilt to Joohyun in private and seemed to regularly ask how KSJ was doing in prison during the past 8 years. I also get the feeling he was asking the warden if KSJ was regularly getting health checks by a doctor out of worry besides the investigation.

(This is some crack theory, but what if the one who murdered BWT was KMC and not KSJ? At this point, the narration is really unreliable so I wouldn't even be surprised!)

On that subject, I wonder if the drama will address KSJ’s health issue with his collapsed lung/asthma again ; his medical visit also seemed shot in order not to show the doctor’s silhouette at all, I wonder if this will hold any significance later on (it could be Jihoon’s grandmother, who knows!)? Not to mention Uhm Eungyeong, the culprit on ep2, was poisoned by Gaetal knowing she had asthma????

When the judge ruled Byun Wootaek’s acquittal (ep4), his gavel (a symbol of the justice) was shot struck right in front of KSJ’s silhouette, above his head, as if justice itself crushed KSJ. A similar symbolism is used in ep5’s Killing Vote:

The flashbacks are beautifully shot, ep4 was really moving. This scene’s lighting furthered the tragedy: it’s as though the orange light and the blood on Narae burn into KSJ and KMC’s profile as they find her, contrasting with Narae and the background’s cold tones:

Also when KSJ recalls how he murdered BWT, the same orange hue colors the shots.

In ep5, we finally hear the voice of a man who is thought to be Gaetal, when he’s talking to KMC over the phone. The opening shows the cast’s profiles, but there’s this one character we haven’t seen yet:

The man in question could totally be this character that wasn’t introduced yet! He’s probably the ‘executor’ of the Killing Vote, who was chatting with the teacher Lee Minsu.

I think Gaetal is definitely not the work of only one person: there’s at least the executor, tech-savvy people organizing the vote (the stream, the text messages, the hacking, …), the one on the stream (or maybe there’s more than one on the stream, a different one per case because the tone and attitude are never the same: agressive, vengeful, or bubbly, or caustic…) and perhaps someone in the police.

The teacher could be Fan no. 1 and/or Gaetal (if it’s not the same person/group): In ep4, we learn KSJ’s « Fan no. 1 » (1호팬, [ilho fan]) regularly sent him letters which would describe in details how the culprits subject to the Killing Vote would be ‘judged’. In ep3, the teacher talks to this ‘executor’ under the pseudo ‘justice15’: if 15 is read with the sino-korean numbers for 1 (일 [il]) and 5 (오 [oh]), the pronunciation would be close to ‘no. 1’, so this could not be a simple coincidence. Also ‘justice’ could be a taunt directed towards KMC’s vision of justice (he uses 정의 to describe his ideal of justice to KSJ) since he seems to deeply resent KMC.

Gaetal uses KSJ and KMC’s words (‘devils deemed innocent’, ‘rational justice’) and interestingly, another character who talks about rationality is the assemblywoman (‘rationality, moral sense and mothers are stronger than the law’)!

Also, this dude is on some twisted christian trip: in ep4, we get a glimpse of the teacher’s tattoo, a cross on his chest that reads… ‘My daddy My hero’… which was what Narae used to say to her father (her hero, making her safe because he’s always there to protect her) and a part of her room’s decoration…

Well, if he killed Narae and his mother made Byun Wootaek the scapegoat for every crimes he committed this far, something must have gone wrong this time for him (and his mother) to deeply resent KMC to the point of wanting to kill him: they managed to pull the strings of the police and judicial system, but KMC must have discovered Lee Minsu was the real culprit (perhaps after KSJ killed BWT) and tried to kill him, which might’ve worsened his heart condition somehow.

(And it’s interesting how the second screenshot shows the teacher discarding his now bloodied watch in disgust after hearing KMC saying ‘I was willing to break rules to catch this heinous criminal as soon as possible’ mmmmh…)

Just as Captain Oh completely denied his liability in ep5, he must have felt wronged, Narae’s case being the only one that 'sullied' him (and this must be why he changed names, from Lee Yunseong to Lee Minsu). Associating the accusations he must’ve faced because of Narae’s case and KMC to the Passion of the Christ in a sick, twisted way, he must’ve thought this tattoo as his own crucifixion leading to his rebirth/his revenge through the Killing Vote?

If the teacher is the mastermind behind the Killing Vote, choosing culprits involved in CSE, SA and CA so far for the votes could be: 1 — to mask his true identity, seemingly siding with true justice while he’s one of those he judges. Also, choosing keywords associated to BOTH KSJ and KMC could be to mislead the police to believe Gaetal is close to KSJ and both KSJ and KMC to suspect one another 2 — a sick way to play with KMC’s concept of justice and using KSJ's trauma (and KMC) ; 3 — to hide the final objective of the Killing Vote: since he gives the public a pretty convincing and sophisticated fact-check all the circumstances surrounding the culprits’ crimes (Gaetal even said in one of their streams that a culprit wouldn’t be subject to the vote if their crimes weren’t true), this could lead the public to believe every case would be exposed truthfully. Which means one of these cases could be fabricated and nobody would realize it at first. If the teacher organized the Killing Vote to get back at KMC (this also seems to benefit his mother’s campaign), perhaps the last vote would accuse KMC or KSJ of Narae’s murder (since no culprit was found guilty) or another crime.

At his final trial, KSJ accused ’the police who released BWT because they cared more about their performance’. We now know the police commissionner, KMC’s superior and the assemblywoman were all linked somehow to what happened 8 years ago. We also got a flashback of Choi Jinsu, KMC’s colleague who was also the detective in charge in both Narae and KSJ’s case, who gave KMC the hint of Byun Wootaek being the culprit. KMC, unlike him, ‘isn’t interested in politics’… He also recognized the teacher as Lee Yunseong, potentially his name before murdering Narae. In ep5, Joohyun automatically ruled CJS out of the suspect list because he’s not close to KSJ… If the premise that Gaetal must be close to KSJ is wrong, then his involvement could be possible: perhaps he was ordered to tamper with the procedure and the pieces of evidence during the two cases? Also, I wonder if KMC’s reputation will get addressed, his superiors must’ve pressured him to follow unofficial orders or he got to discover these orders (eg. maybe in Narae’s case?) and ever since he’s the man to ask for to do the dirty work? Or KMC could have deliberately gained his ‘Wipeout’ reputation to get closer to the truth of what happened 8 years ago?

In the first episode, the video test Joohyun found on Joomin’s laptop is named ‘Lrae091515’: if the drama takes place in 2023, the tragic events surrounding KSJ, KMC and Joohyun ‘8 years ago’ would have taken place in 2015! Could this refer to the final day of KSJ’s trial (or the day Narae was killed)? The pseudo ‘justice15’ could also be a reference to that date.

As for the ‘Lrae’… It could be a wild WILD guess but ‘Lrae’ could be ‘irae’ as in Dies Irae/day of wrath (capital i looks like a lowercase L), which is a sequence in Requiem mass!

The video test was only found on Joomin’s laptop when all the Internet cafe computers got the virus: the one who hacked the computers likely targeted Joomin or her sister, a police officer deliberately.

The tag in Narae’s room (‘the 13th was wrong’):

(It’s also a bit disturbing the tag was sprayed right on top of the ‘My daddy My hero’…)

— the narrative makes us think the tag refers to the 13th failed stab but it could be something else entirely (and perhaps KSJ is keeping this hint to himself?) — if the christian subtext truly exists in this drama (especially with the teacher’s tattoo), 13 is a number often linked in superstitions to the Cena, Judas (who betrayed Jesus, thought to have been the 13th guest to sit down to the Last Supper) and bad luck: whoever tagged this maybe wanted to signal KSJ the man he killed wasn’t the true culprit.

There is also a similar version in the norse mythology I found here:

« In his book “Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things,” Charles Panati traces the concept of the cursed back to Norse mythology, when Loki, the god of mischief, gate-crashed a banquet in Valhalla, bringing the number of gods in attendance to 13. Deceived by Loki, the blind god Hodr was tricked into shooting his brother Balder, the god of light, joy and goodness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow, killing him instantly. » And… we see the teacher communicating through the ‘Loki’ network (a wordplay for what would be Tor I guess, just as Apple would become a pear on laptops in media haha)!

(This is quite a reach, but for posterity in the opening, the 13th character shown is KMC, and in reverse order Jihoon haha)

The tag neither the news articles on Narae and KSJ’s cases weren’t in Gaetal’s video test:

idk how to explain, but I get the feeling that person A (who leaked the video), B (the Gaetal we see on the video), C (the Gaetal who’s now organizing the Killing Vote) & D (who tagged the wall and pinned the news articles about KSJ and Narae) could be different characters with respective objectives too. The drama highlights a bit too much the premise that Gaetal is one single individual that’s close to KSJ haha At the very least, whoever leaked the video knew someone else, especially KMC, would eventually be able to recognize its contents (‘devils deemed innocent’, Narae’s room and her stuffed bunny). Also for posterity, KMC was the one who ostensibly redirected KSJ’s attention to the picture of the tag on the wall.

The assemblywoman and the teacher both have a habit to touch their ear sometimes (eg. when she talked to him about KMC ; when the teacher was watching the student during PE). Jihoon also did it right after the teacher left: was it to try to reproduce what he did to understand what he was watching or is he linked to them?

At the very least Jihoon seems to know some things about the Killing Vote, the teacher as well as KMC:

— In ep1, he bumped into Joohyun as he went to retrieve one of the cups the teacher seems to make a collection of.

On the cup, there’s an ’S’ graved on it, just as the telltale sign of the Killing Vote is the character ㅅ/siot (시옷), the first character of 사형 (death penalty/capital punishment).

— He seems to know more than he lets on about the Killing Vote and keeps staring at the teacher (as though he knows his past crimes, eg. the closeups on the teacher grabbing/borderline groping Joomin’s shoulder, watching the students during PE etc.).

— He seemed startled when Joomin talked about ‘zombie PCs’.

— In ep3, Jihoon says: « I think [he] took it too far this time. » right after he saw KMC being alive and the man with the cap escape (which could totally be this character in the opening we’ve not yet seen). In Korean, the subject is often omitted and deduced from the context, it’s the case here: the drama keeps the ambiguity on whatever Jihoon meant here.

— Him being Narae’s friend would also make sense: as Narae was 8yo, she would be around Joomin and Jihoon’s age if she was still alive. There’s also Narae’s drawings that keep being showed, a boy/young man is always drawn on it.

As a child’s representation of adults and children could be inaccurate (the height, physical appearance, etc.), the characters we see on her drawings could be alternatively KMC (who was close to KSJ and given KSJ’s answer, also doted on her daughter), KSJ, a boy Narae used to play with (it could be Jihoon), the teacher or BWT, the son of the driver and the housekeeper who were also close to Narae and KSJ.

The assemblywoman asked her assistant to observe her son closely: I guess that refers to his health but it’s also to make sure he doesn’t commit crimes anymore. She also said to her son he definitely knows she’s ready to do anything to make Gaetal join her so that her campaign is successful: this + joking on TV how a mother is above the law suggest she definitely pulled strings to save their reputation (eg. using BWT as a convenient scapegoat ; tampering with the trials ; changing his son’s name etc.).

Joohyun thinks Gaetal acts like a hacker. That would also make Jodan (in ep5, he revealed he was arrested for hacking), Jihoon, the teacher and Joohyun herself suspects!

KSJ’s interest in Joohyun is curious: he even looked into her background once he met her & seems to focus on her habit to scratch her scar ; KMC’s comment on how unusual KSJ’s behavior was (specifically requesting Joohyun to communicate with ; negotiating his pardon — while he didn’t regret what he did at all) makes me think that: — in the letters or in some other way, Gaetal must’ve instructed him to obtain a pardon (perhaps they even told him to get rid of the letters to make him indispensable to the police) — Gaetal must’ve told him he would seek the truth to what happened to Narae: for someone who didn’t regret avenging her daughter, revealing Byun Wootaek was a scapegoat and the true culprit is roaming free out there would be plenty enough drive for him to find a way to get out of prison — whoever they are, Gaetal must’ve an ulterior motive to involve Joohyun, KSJ and KMC together

The first episode showed similar shots of KSJ and KMC (same backlighting, same low-angle shot, KSJ avenging his daughter and KMC lashing out on Bae Gicheol to stop him from abusing his wife):

I wonder if we’ll get to see KMC’s relationship with the woman on his photo (likely his mother), this is probably the only shot we get of him smiling not out of spite ;;

For Mu in Muchan, one of the hanja that can be given as a name is 橅, which means law, and it’s ironic given how the law failed him and KSJ ; sometimes characters are given names that will hold meaning in their development eg. Donghoon & Jian in My Mister ; Dongsik and Juwon in Beyond Evil.

For Ju in Seokju, there is 澍, which means timely/long-awaited rain ; rain has marked 2 important events in KSJ’s life: when he discovered his daughter’s body and when he was arrested by KMC after murdering Byun Wootaek ; there’s also 炷 which means wick, aligning with the OST lyrics (a fire burning in one’s eyes)

#국민사형투표 #the killing vote #tkv #kdrama

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itzymidzy · 18 days ago

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"Thanks to" letter in GOLD album: Lia

Hello, this is LIA.

There are people I am so grateful to and though I want to give them only love and happiness, I'm clumsy in expressing myself. So I want to use this 'thanks to' message to convey my feelings. To my family, who love me the most in the world, thank you for praying for me every day, for the encouraging quotes and videos you send without fail, and for the random phone calls that give me strength.

Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, my brother, aunties, uncles and cousins, thank you all so much. And to my friends who have supported and worried about me, I sincerely thank you. Yejin, whenever I felt down or struggled, you always had your own way of giving me strength. Over the past year, having you by my side has been such a comfort— can't tell you how grateful I am. My dearest treasure Bella, no matter how my day has gone, at the end of it, you always greet me with the happiest face and that makes me so happy. I love you so much. To PD Park Jin-young, CEO Jung Wook, Vice President Byun Sang-bong and Director Hee-won, thank you so much for always sincerely supporting and cheering for us. I am deeply thankful to everyone at JYP Entertainment who has understood and waited for me, as well as to the members and MIDZY. I regret the time we couldn't spend together, but as much as I do, I will make sure this album repays all those who waited for the five of us to come back stronger as a complete group.

Please look forward to it! Thank you and love you always. Fighting!

#itzy #lia #choi jisu #gold

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that-crazy-five-foot-two-chick · 9 months ago

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I am NOT Thank You Notes

Some disclaimers/notes!

These are the thank you notes from the photo book/liner notes of Stray Kids' I am NOT album, as best as I can translate them.

I do not speak much Korean, but I can read the alphabet and know some basic words. I took a picture of each page, scanned it via Google lens, and ran it through Google translate (and other sites as needed). After that, I cleaned up grammar and weird phrasing and sometimes had to go back and manually correct omissions or figure out where typos got mistranslated. It was kinda grueling at times ngl.

I omitted Woojin's notes, as most current Stays would probably rather it be that way, but I chose not to omit mentions of him in the others' notes. What they wrote is what they wrote.

Hyunjin's handwriting was horrific, so sometimes I truly just had to make my best guess at what he even attempted to write. If I got stuff wrong, blame him, not me.

I'm not gonna correct Felix's own English punctuation and grammar, but again, I'm leaving in his mistakes, and they are not my own 😭

Italics indicate parts that were already in English or the Roman alphabet and [brackets] indicate my own notes.

I left in most honorifics they used, including a common shortening of *seonsaengnim, ie teacher, but putting in addendums like "composer" after every composer listed got a bit tedious, so I left those out. Just assume they're being very respectful of everyone unless they're equal or younger in age lol.

You will quickly figure out that they're thanking a lot of the same people, but you get some quirks too, including some familiar names of other JYPE artists!

Without further ado, enjoy!

Bang Chan

Hello! I have finally made my official debut! There are so many people who helped Chan come this far, and I am truly, truly grateful! First of all, my family in Australia, my dad, mom, Haena, and Wonie! Thank you so much for believing in me until the end and always supporting me... It must have been really frustrating, difficult, and painful to wait, but I'm so, so thankful for sticking with it until the end... I'll be successful and become a great son, oppa, and hyung for waiting so long! Love you always! I am also very grateful to my relatives in Korea. Of course, I don't see you often, but thank you so much for being a great help to me anytime and anywhere!

Another precious family in Korea... JYP FAMILY! Thank you so so so much! First of all, our PD Park Jinyoung, President Jung Wook, Vice President Jo Haesung, Vice President Byun Sangbong, and Vice President Pyo Jongrok, please always understand that I still have many shortcomings. Thank you so much for watching me get this far! A cool person who can show correct behavior and a good image in the future, I will be Chan! It's a promise!

Now, the Training Team that has been with me for 7 years! I can never forget it. Jiyoung noona, Yuri noona, Youngkyoon hyung, Anjin noona, Yeonsik hyung, Allen hyung, Seongha hyung! There are people who have seen me for a long time and there are people who have seen me recently, but time is not important. I'm just so grateful and I love you.. To those who helped me get here, thank you so much for helping me! I am so grateful to the Training Team and the countless teachers who taught me! First of all, Sujeong-ssaem* and Yumi-ssaem are like mothers... thank you very much for always being with me! Ali-ssaem! NO.. God Ali-ssaem! Thank you for teaching me so many things! Shin Yumi-ssaem, Hyungjoo-ssaem, Seongeun-ssaem, Youngsam-ssaem, Jisoo-ssaem, Jaesung-ssaem, Semi-ssaem, Doobu-ssaem, Jinhwan-ssaem, Jaeyeop-ssaem, Jinok-ssaem, Jjitong-ssaem, and Youngwo-ssaem! Thank you so much for teaching me so much! Another family-like Casting Team! Hyunkyung noona, Si-eun noona, Blake hyung, Donghwan hyung, Jin noona, Jiyoon noona (now not in the casting team)! Thank you for always watching over me! KJ[?] hyung, KJ from Thailand! I can't forget it~ Also, my Narae noona! I love you! Jeongeun noona, Heoni noona! I still remember! Ah, Hyang-ssaem, Gyurim-ssaem, Tatsuya-ssaem, and Hasegawa-ssaem, who taught me the language! Thank you for always teaching me well!

During my trainee period, I learned a lot from my trainee hyungs, noonas, friends, and dongsaengs! Thank you so much to everyone who stayed with me so far! It's great to see the current trainees always working hard, and they should continue to work hard in the future!

Yaochen, my favorite and hard-working dongsaeng, are you doing well? I will always be cheering you on! I graduated from the training center and was nervous about the new environment, but when I arrived there were so many familiar faces that I felt really at ease! First of all, I love our Stray Kids Team!

Song Ji-eun, CEO of Division 1, thank you so much for trusting me and my team and letting us go together in the future! Jeonghan hyung, whom I will continue to see in the future, Eunyoung noona, Jiyeon noona! Please take good care of us and we will always keep up with you! Also, Soojeon noona, Yoonjeong noona, Sunmi noona who are watching over us, and the unforgettable A&R Team! Yeji noona and Jiho hyung! Thank you so much for trusting us and being with us! I will do my best! Hana noona, Jihyung noona, Jane noona, Jeongmin noona, Bohyun noona, Ara noona, Jena noona, Dayoon noona, Taewon noona, Jeongeun noona, and Sinae noona! Really, thank you so much and see you often~ Soonhyung hyung? Hahaha, you know that I love you, who is really like a big brother to me, right? Also, thank you to our wonderful engineer hyung/noonas! Team leader Taeseop, Hyejin noona, Sehwe noona, Minji noona, Hansoo hyung, Hongjin hyung, and Sangyeop hyung, thank you always and see you often! Thank you to our Division 1 2PM Team hyung/noonas! Team leader Chaeyoon, Sooyeon noona, Mihee noona... I know the names are difficult, but I will try my best to memorize them all! I will work hard and show only my best side! Performance Team! Namyong-ssaem, Hyungwoong-ssaem, Taeul-ssaem, Gwangyeol-ssaem, Choi So-ssaem, Dasol (ssaem)? Haha. Thank you so much for helping me and my team so well! I hope to see you more often in the future~

Director Kim Heewon, Director Moon Hoyoon, Jaeho hyung, Team Leader Eunmok, Team Leader Park Chan, Team Leader Park Jongsook, Jihye noona, and Yejin noona! Thank you so much for just knowing me! We will only show you our good side! Ah~ Our Publishing Team’s CEO Lee Jeongyoon, Minji noona, Daye noona and Hyunwoo hyung! Thank you so much for helping me so well! Oh, and Kang Soonhyun! I love you haha. Thank you so much to the sunbaenims I know and appreciate! If you see it sometimes, you wrote it for me too, but now it's my turn!

To the 2PM sunbaenims we really respect, thank you for always taking good care of us wherever you are! We will become cool artists like our hyungs! Also, sunbaenim Yubin, who takes good care of me! And thank you to Hyelim sunbaenim! Thank you to Fei noona and Suzy noona for teaching me many things when I was young! We will work harder in the future! Also, A Yeon noona, Yerin, Jimin, Bernard hyung and Somi! Thank you so much! Thank you so much to GOT7, Day6, and Twice sunbaenims who made many memories together! Jaebeom hyung, Jinyoung hyung, Mark hyung, Jackson hyung, Youngjae hyung, Yugyeom, BamBam, Sungjin hyung, Jehyung hyung, Young K, Brian, Younghyun hyung, Wonpil hyung, Dowoon hyung, Nayeon noona, Jeongyeon noona, Jihyo noona, Momo noona, Sana noona, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu! I'm so grateful to everyone and it's so nice to feel like we're together again as family~ I love you! Ah, I love our Boy Story sunbaenims/cute dongsaengs too!

Thank you so much to the composers who worked with me on the songs for the last Mixtape album and this I am NOT album! Armadillo, Earattack, Trippy, Won Taek, Garden, Real Men, "School Life" composers, Hong Jisang, Lee Woomin, Kim Park Chella, Faces of Glory, and This N That! Thank you for working with us and teaching us so much! Also, thank you so much to Director High Quality Fish for making our Music Videos and Performance Videos beautiful! And 8oobagraphy took great pictures of us! Thank you so much! Thank you so much to the PD hyungs, writer noonas, and camera hyung/noonas who took good care of us while broadcasting Stray Kids! I miss you all! Thank you so much to the hair and makeup noonas who traveled with us and always took care of us! Thank you for always! And thank you so much to the stylist hyung/noonas who dress me up in cool outfits! Thanks to you, I always have strength!

I am so grateful to my friends in Australia who always believe in me and make me laugh, and I am also very grateful to my school friends in Korea! I miss you all for the first time in a while~ Love ya all! And our Stray Kids members! Woojin, Minho, Changbin, Hyunjin, Jisung, Seungmin, Felix and Jeongin! I really wouldn't be here if it weren't for you guys... I'm always grateful and will always continue to be~! Haha

And last but not least, our fans! Thank you so so so much! We get a lot of strength thanks to our fans! We will run harder for our fans! Even though we are still lacking a lot and don't have much experience, when people support us from the side, we have a lot of strength! We still have a long way to go, but I believe we will go on a fun adventure together! Come run with us! Turn everything upside down~! I love you all and thank you with all my heart!

Lee Know

Hello! This is Stray Kids Lee Minho. This is our first album, and PD Park Jinyoung, CEO Jung Wook, Vice President Jo Haesung, Vice President Byun Sangbong, and Vice President Pyo Jongrok all helped us release such a great album. Thank you for creating this great opportunity! And Jiyoung noona, CEO Song Ji-eun, thank you so much, Si-eun noona who cast me, the casting team hyungs and noonas, and the training team hyungs and noonas. Sujeong-ssaem, Yumi-ssaem, Seongeun-ssaem, Sool Jei-ssaem, Taehoon-ssaem, Namyong-ssaem, Hyungwoong-ssaem, Gwangryeol-ssaem, Ali-ssaem, and Jae-im-ssaem who helped me grow like this. Thank you so much! Also, our team Jeonghan hyung, Soojin noona, Jiyeon noona, Eunyoung noona, Yoonjeong noona, Sunmi noona, Yeji noona, Jiho hyung, 2PM team leader Chaeyoon, and Sooyeon noona. And thank you to Soonhyung hyung, Bohyun noona, and Ara noona. And thank you to the PD hyungs and writer noonas who filmed Stray Kids broadcast and made it great. Also, the composers who created wonderful songs. Director Mackerel, who made a great trailer and music video, and Booba hyung, who took pretty pictures. Thank you for always. Also, I would like to thank my hair and makeup noonas and stylist hyungs for always creating great hair and faces. Thank you for your continued support.

And to my family, mom, dad, grandmother, grandfather, Soonie, Doongie, and other relatives, I am truly very grateful.

Thank you to my dancer friends, hyungs, noonas, dongsaengs, and my friends who danced with me.

And thank you so so much to our fans. I want to continue to be together in the future, and I will always show you my best side, please be my strength!! ♡

Also, thank you to our Stray Kids brothers; you must continue to take good care of me. Let's do our best.

Changbin

Stray Kids has finally released their debut album!! First of all, my family, my most beloved supporters in the world, have been through a lot of crying and laughing together to get to this place, and I am so grateful to you for always believing in me and supporting me. We would like to thank PD Park Jinyoung, President Jeong Wook, Vice President Jo Haesung, Vice President Byun Sangbong, and Vice President Pyo Jongrok for allowing the nine of us to pursue our dreams together and always giving kind words and support. And I am very grateful to Stray Kids' mom Jiyoung noona and training team hyung/noonas who made our Stray Kids exist. My Jayoon noona, who had a keen eye for casting me ^^ Even if you go to other teams, always hwaitinggg!!

We are always grateful to the Stray Kids team CEO Song Ji-eun, Soojin noona, Junghwan hyung, Sunmi noona, Yoonjeong noona, Yeji noona, Eunyoung noona, and Jiyeon noona, who lead us on a good path, support us, and take care of us ㅜㅜ You must have gone through a lot of hardships because of us. Thank you so much for trusting and leading me until the end. Well, please take care of me in the future! Jihyung noona, Bohyun noona, Ara noona, Dawoon noona, Jena noona, Hana noona, Sunhyung hyung, Jeongmin noona, and Jane noona, who worked hard and worked together all night long for our great appearance and good songs both in the pre-debut album and this debut album, I am always so grateful to all of you! And thank you to team leader Chaeyoon and Sooyeon noona who helped us during our MD filming. Thank you so much to Booba hyung who took a lot of great photos this time, and to Director Mackerel who stayed up all night filming and making the appetizing music video! Thank you to Trippy hyung, Kim Park Chella, Jisang hyung, Jeongseok-ssaem, Lee Woomin, and Faces of Glory who worked with me on the great songs I would like to share on this debut album.

I am so grateful to my friends who give me strength and support from afar ^^ I miss you! Thank you to all of our Stray Kids hair and makeup stylist hyung/noonas who always make it appealing.

Lastly, I am so grateful to the fans who are the driving force behind Stray Kids' ability to run. Even though it's hard and tiring from practicing, I get strength when I think of you all and see your faces ㅜㅜ So, I hope we can be a source of strength to our fans too! Stray Kids will work even harder to achieve that, so please watch closely!! Stray Kids members Jeongin, Seungmin, Felix, Jisung, Hyunjin, Minho hyung, Woojin hyung, Chan hyung! I’m so thankful and happy because we’re a team together, Stray Kids ^^ Let’s go to the end!!

Hyunjin

Hello, this is Stray Kids Hyunjin. I am so excited to debut with our Stray Kids members. I'm so happy to be on such a good team with Chan hyung, Woojin hyung, Minho hyung, Changbin hyung, Jisung, Yongbok, Seungmin, and Jeongin. I love you—let's do well in the future. I think it's my greatest joy to have you as brothers. And the people I am most thankful for in my life are my mom and dad. Thank you for believing in me, helping me go down this path, giving me the most support, and loving me. I love you.

PD Park Jin-young, CEO Jeong Wook, Vice President Jo Haesung, Vice President Byun Sangbong, and Pyo Jong-rok, who created the family called Stray Kids. Vice President, CEO Song Ji-eun, thank you very much. Please take care of our Stray Kids in the future. Please enjoy it! We are all in the same boat as our team: Soojin noona, Jeonghan hyung, Yoonjeong noona, Neungmi[?] noona, Eunyoung noona, Jiyeon noona, Jiho hyung, and Yeji noona, so please take care of them like your own family! I will work hard, I love you! And Jiyoung noona, Yuri noona, Youngkyoon hyung, Anjin noona, Yeonsik hyung, Allen hyung, and Seongha hyung, who treated me well when I was at the training center, and Hyunkyung noona, Si-eun noona, Joonwoo[??] hyung, Donghwan hyung, and Jin noona, who were casting members, thank you for making and guiding me to grow like this.

I love you, A&R who took care of us for our album, Hana noona, Jane noona, Soonhyung hyung, Jeongmin noona, Jihyung noona, Bohyun noona, Jiyoon noona, Ara noona, Jena noona, and Dayoon noona, for making the quality so good and for being ours. And thank you to team leader Chaeyoon and Sooyeon noona for encouraging us to come out and see our MD photos. Please take care of me in the future. Yumi-ssaem, Ali-ssaem, Jaeyeop-ssaem, Sool Jei-ssaem, Soojeong-ssaem, Hyunjoo-ssaem, Jisoo-ssaem, and Seongeun-ssaem, whom I respect, thank you for helping me grow and raising me with kind and sometimes bitter words. I love you. I would like to thank my performance hyungs, Namyong-ssaem, Hyungwoong-ssaem, Gwangryeol-ssaem, and Taehoon-ssaem for coordinating all my choreography and formations. Thank you for your continued support.

Many thanks to my cherished hyungs, friends, and dongsaengs who were like treasures to me and spent every day with me when I was a trainee. I'll never forget you, and I heard that you guys are cheering me on even when I can't see my old neighborhood friends who support and care for me from far away. Maybe that's why I really miss you. I hope you do well in everything you are trying to do now. I love you. And to the dancers who are dancing hard with me in my class now, I want to make sure we all succeed and dance together in the future. Thank you for supporting me so much and good luck to the 8th class of calligraphy! To my middle and high school teachers, thank you for caring for me and giving me many kind words.

We are indebted to the music video for this album, the writer, and the cinematographer. Thank you for making a great music video for us. And I would like to thank my hair, makeup, and stylist hyung/noonas for working hard to make me look as good as possible on the screen.

And our Stray Kids fans, we met many of you for the first time on Mnet's Stray Kids. I think we worked even harder thanks to your support during the broadcast, which would have been difficult without the fans' support. Thank you so much for always coming to see us and always loving us.

I will work hard to repay you. I love you.

Han

Hello! This is Stray Kids Han Jisung, who finally debuted this time. First of all, I would like to thank PD Park Jinyoung, CEO Jeong Wook, Vice President Jo Haesung, Vice President Byun Sangbong, Vice President Pyo Jongrok, and CEO Song Ji-eun for helping us release our album.

Thank you so much to the Training Team, Jiyoung noona, Yuri noona, Youngkyoon hyung, Anjin noona, Seongha hyung, and Yeonsik hyung and Allen hyung from the China branch, who helped us grow so far. And from the A&R headquarters, Jihyung noona, Bohyun noona, Hana noona, Jeongmin noona, Ara noona, Soonhyung hyung who always helped us make good songs! Thank you for always helping us.

We are so grateful to the Stray Kids Team of Division 1, Soojin noona, Jeonghan hyung, Yoonjeong noona, Sunmi noona, Eunyoung noona, Jiyeon noona, Jiho hyung, and Yeji noona, who always work all night long for us. Thank you for always believing in us! We will work harder in the future.

Also, Namyong-ssaem, Hyungwoong-ssaem, Gwangyeol-ssaem, and Taehoon-ssaem, who created and taught us cool and impactful choreography for our songs! Thank you for always working hard to help us overcome our shortcomings! And I am always grateful and have respect for Yumi-ssaem, Sujeong-ssaem, and Ali-ssaem, who helped us improve our lacking skills. Thank you to our JYP family who work hard for us in places we can't see.

Also, Director Kim Yongsoo and my hyung, noonas on set filmed this quality, wonderful, movie-like music video, so thank you! And thank you, Booba hyung, for always taking pictures of me looking cool and pretty! Thank you so much to our hair and makeup noonas who always come out earlier than us and do our hair and makeup beautifully. Also, I am always grateful to the stylist hyung, noonas who dress us in cool, pretty clothes!

My dad, mom, and older brother, who are always worried about the youngest child in the family, are far away and although they are not with me, I am always thankful for their support and prayers, and I love them so much.

And... our Stray Kids brothers are always by each other's side, encouraging and supporting each other, and now I miss them even if I don't see them even for a day, and our members who have become one family now are Chan hyung, Woojin hyung, Minho hyung, Changbin hyung, Hyunjin, Felix, Seungmin, and Jeongin, thank you always... I'm so happy that our members are Stray Kids. Let us continue to be wonderful and closer brothers to each other! In the future too~ Please take good care of me!! It's a little embarrassing and unfamiliar, but... I love you. Hahaha

Lastly, our fans who have been waiting for our official debut as much as we have... no, even more than us! We are so grateful to you for giving us such a precious opportunity behind the scenes so that we can stand in this position. You always support us. I think it is a great gift to receive support from fans in our lives! Now we're growing up by your side! We will show you that we are always consistent and never lose our original intention! We will do our best to be a Stray Kids who can always bring happiness to you! We are always grateful to our Fans who always give us so much love despite our shortcomings,♡ I love you.♡ [heart exclamation point] Everyone! Please look forward to it in the future! Thank you all so much.

Felix

Hello, this is Straykids Felix. Thanks to PD Park Jinyoung, President Jeong Wook, Vice President Jo Haesung, Vice President Byeon Sangbong, and Vice President Pyo Jongrok, thank you very much for your hard work for Straykids so far. Still, I still want to learn a lot about Korean culture, skills, and JYP style, and I am honored to be able to work as a JYP artist in the future. I will try my best. Thank you from the bottom of my heart ♡

Thanks to CEO Song Ji-eun ♡♡ Thank you for taking care of us, helping us debut, and being with us in the future. Whenever we do a music video, Jambangee, or something important, the CEO always takes care of us and buys us delicious food, so I think the CEO is a loving mother to Straykids ♡^^ We will work hard to make CEO Song Ji-eun and everyone proud of Straykids. We will show you a better image in the future. Thank you ^^♡♡♡

Thanks to Straykids team Soojin noona, Jeonghan hyung, Yoonjeong noona, Sunmi noona, Jiyeon noona, Eunyoung noona, Jiho hyung and Yeji noona!! When we first met, I was worried because it was awkward with my hyung, noonas, but thank you for working until dawn, coming home late, and being with us Straykids. We, the 9 Straykids, will work hard and show it with good hearts. In the future, we will show you that we will always work hard to achieve success.

Thanks to training centre Jiyoung noona, Yuri noona, Youngkyoon hyung, Anjin noona, Si-eun noona, Yeonsik hyung, Allen hyung, Jihyung noona, Bohyun noona, Ara noona, Dayoon noona, Jena noona, and Soonhyung hyung. Thank you for taking pictures, creating the mixtape album, and allowing me to meet the 9 Straykids when Straykids started. I didn't have much time to prepare, but fortunately, thanks to my brothers and sisters, I learned a lot about JYP style and Korean culture, and I will always be grateful and miss you. Thank you for taking good care of me so far, and I ask for your continued support.

Thanks to Namyong-ssaem, Taehoon-ssaem, Hyungwoong-ssaem, Gwangyeol-ssaem, Sujeong-ssaem, Yumi-ssaem, Sool Jei-ssaem, Ali-ssaem, Jinhwan-ssaem, Jeongseok-ssaem, Jaeyeop-ssaem, Jisoo-ssaem, and Lee Hyang-ssaem. When I first came here, I practiced without knowing much about how to find my skills, but I am grateful to the teachers who have worked hard to teach me a lot so far. If the teachers hadn't focused on it, it would have been very lacking. Although I am still lacking, I have learned a lot and will work harder to become a great artist. Thank you!

Thanks to my family Straykids Chan hyung, Woojin hyung, Minho hyung, Changbin hyung, Hyunjin, Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin, from the beginning until now, they have helped and understood each other, given a lot of love, and eaten together. I think we really are a dream team, practicing as a group and shedding sweat like tears. I'm always sorry if I did any harm to the team because I didn't know what to do at first, so thank you. I will learn and work hard to be a plus to the team. Thank you very much for understanding. This is just the beginning and we are short on time, but let’s work hard to succeed in the future! Straykids hwaiting.

Thanks to Straykids fans! Thank you so much for your continued support from the start of the broadcast and for listening to our music a lot ♡. Please look forward to better songs, stages, and appearances in the future, and we will show you only the best. I love you and thank you~ ♡

Straykids Fans! From the start of Straykids reality show til now, thank you so much for the love and support Straykids needed. In the future Straykids will release much more surprising, touching and great music so please look forward!! We will show a much better side!

Thanks to close, supportive mates in school and church. Thanks for all the good times we've had and unforgettable moments. I'll always remember the parties, ceremonies, camping holidays and lastly the kindness Ive always recieved.

In order to repay all the kindness recieved, I have wrote down my thanks in this album for you guys. At this early age, leaving Australia were hard, for my dream and goals however found. I pray for you guys to find your own successful life goals in the future. lastly, cheers.

Thanks to highschool teachers and church teachers

Thank you for all the hard work and effort teaching my year!!

I have learn't many things that will help myself in the future. throughout my years in highschool, there were many fun, memorable moments I cannot forget... it's a shame there was not alot of time to spend with my year and teachers. All the useful, supportive Hps during highschool has help me reach beyond my limits and changed myself into a much better person. Without the support, I wouldn't know what kind of person I'd turn out to be so thankyou and God bless.

Thanks to my family

Thank you for watching over me and giving me so much love when I was in Australia since I was born.

I will miss you all... Thank you for giving me the opportunity to become an artist in Korea. I will show you how hard I work. I love you, and hwaiting! ♡

Seungmin

I am truly grateful to the entire JYP family, my dream company, for recognizing such an ordinary student and helping him rise to this point. PD Park Jinyoung! I first met the PD during the broadcast of 'Stray Kids', and since then, I would like to thank you for always helping me and giving me many kind words. Thank you for allowing all 9 of us to debut together!

President Jeong Wook, Vice President Jo Haesung, Vice President Byun Sangbong, and Vice President Pyo Jongrok!! Thank you for trusting us and allowing us to come this far. Based on this good start, we will continue to work steadily!! A&R Director Lee Jiyoung! Thank you for seeing the potential and choosing me. I think I was able to come this far because of that beginning. And even though he must have been colder than us during important filming or MV filming, he stayed there until the end, so I really believed in his strength. Please continue to discover more dream trees with better roots! [No idea what was meant here] Subdivision representative Song Ji-eun!! Thanks to the fact that you always trust us and take care of us first, we will also trust and follow you. It's really cool to see how sincerely you treat us every time we see you. Please continue to treat me well.

Training team: Yuri noona, Youngkyoon hyung, Anjin noona, Yeonsik hyung, Allen hyung, and Seongha hyung! Thank you for helping us get into the outside world. We really didn't listen to each other, but thank you for always thinking only of our success and making it happen!

Casting team Hyunkyung noona, Si-eun noona, Joongoo hyung, Donghwan hyung (Daeho hyung), Jin noona, and Jiyoon noona, who is now on the production team! Thank you for joining us in the memorable start of the public recruitment audition, selecting an ordinary student, and recognizing my effort and passion. I haven't been able to see you often at work because I'm away on business trips, but I'm always grateful!!

And our Stray Kids team that will be with us from now on!! Assistant manager Soojin, Jeonghan hyung, Sunmi noona, Yoonjeong noona, Eunyoung noona, Jiyeon noona, Jiho hyung, Yeji noona! I hope we can live together as a family in harmony for a long time to come! Thank you for always taking care of us first and working hard for us until late. We want to work hard to do the right thing and leave you feeling even more proud. The reason we are able to shine like this now is thanks to our hyung/noonas who worked hard. Division 1 Team Leader Chaeyoon, Sooyeon noona!! Thank you for having us during our last MD shoot and helping us take pretty pictures!!

Production team leader Jihyung, Bohyun noona, Ara noona, Dayoon noona, Jena noona! Thank you for always taking care of us during filming, helping us, and making great videos and photos behind the scenes. I think I was able to work harder because I was encouraged by the frequent pats on set! Our teachers have helped me develop good skills and follow the right path since I was a trainee!!! Soojeong-ssaem, Yumi-ssaem, Ali-ssaem!!!! In a short period of time, and even now, thanks to my teachers, I was able to think and make the right decisions and enjoy singing, dancing, and performing on stage more. I will continue to stick with you and work harder! Performance Directing Team Director Namyong, Hyungwoong-ssaem, Gwangyeol-ssaem, and Taehoon-ssaem! Thank you for always creating cool choreography for our songs and refining it until late so that we can perform better on stage.

Recording engineer team Hansoo hyung and Sehee noona!! Thank you for accepting and polishing our voices beautifully starting from the Mixtape album!! Acting management team Narae noona! Thank you for always saying kind words and welcoming me every time we ran into each other!!

Composers who make good songs together! I will practice more and work hard to ensure that you are satisfied with the song! Trippy hyung, Jisang! Jeongseok-ssaem! It was great to be with you this time too! And the High Quality Fish team who created really cool trailers and music videos, and artist Booba who is always by our side and takes natural, pretty, cool photos!! Thank you for the feedback, I think my photography skills are improving!! Hair and makeup noonas who always make our hair and faces pretty!! Thank you for allowing me to stand in front of my fans with a great appearance!!! I am often surprised to see how you can turn plain white drawing paper into a beautiful picture, haha. When I go to the store, I feel like the person in front of the mirror is not me, haha. And our wonderful stylist hyung/noonas! We are always grateful to you for dressing us in cool outfits that we could never have imagined at first. It may be difficult every time, but we will help you more in the future! There are times when filming ends late, and there are times when I feel sorry that you always take care of us first. Hair, makeup, and costume team hyung/noonas! Thank you for your hard work!

Music team Soonhyung hyung and Jeongmin noona!! Thank you for your many musical comments and compliments. Thank you for your continued support! Thank you for always having great ideas! Jongwook, head of the legal team! Thanks to you, I was able to get off to a safe and good start. thank you!!

Last year’s homeroom teacher, Wonjeong-ssaem!! Thank you for helping me have a good school life and always encouraging me! Let’s keep seeing each other in the future! And my friends who I have grown up with since I was young! Thanks to you, I can smile and have fun every time I go to school. Even if I can't express it in words, I feel proud and thanks for having it, you guys. Let’s work hard in our respective fields and see each other later with a smile.

We, the 9 members who met by fate to do what we wanted to do, let's go without losing our original intention!! Thank you for always being my support. Mnet's 'Stray Kids' PDs, writer hyung/noonas, and camera hyung/noonas who gave us a good start!! Now I see you often on M Countdown!! I'm so attached to it that I can't wait to see it. Thanks to you, I was able to cry and laugh and become closer to the members.

Lastly, even though I can never express it in words, I am so thankful and sorry to my beloved family. Your youngest son, who cried and asked you to live a life singing, is about to start his career as a singer. I have received a lot of love since I was young, and now I am truly grateful to my fans for allowing me to receive love from them as well, which I will share with them and work hard to grow into a worthy person. Thank you so much for believing in your son and allowing him to do what he wants. Thank you again for raising me nicely and properly, and now I will repay you!

In addition to my mom, dad, and sister, my aunt, my family and my two grandfathers who were a good influence on me and taught me what the truth is, my grandmother who wanted to see her grandchildren's faces even once but couldn't, and my grandmother who always encouraged me and made me feel beautiful. Thank you so much to everyone. From now on, I'm going to give back all the love I've received!! Thank you.

I.N

Hello! This is Stray Kids maknae Yang Jeongin! For allowing our Stray Kids to come this far, thank you all. Thank you so so much to PD Park Jinyoung, CEO Jeong Wook, Vice President Jo Haesung, Vice President Pyo Jongrok, Vice President Byun Sangbong, and CEO Ji-eun who helped us release the album. Thanks to you, I think a much better album has come out.

And the Stray Kids team that always promotes and supports us, Soojin noona, Yoonjeong noona, Sunmi noona, Jeonghan hyung, Eunyoung noona, Jiyeon noona, Jiho hyung, and Yeji noona, we will work harder to repay you, hyung, noonas! And to Namyong-ssaem, Taehoon-ssaem, Gwangyeol-ssaem, and Ali-ssaem, who always help us with our dances, we would like to thank them for making our dances and teaching us. Youngkyoon hyung, Yuri noona, Anjin noona, Allen hyung, Seongha hyung, Yeonsik hyung, and the casting hyung/noonas who have helped us since we were trainees, Hyunkyung noona, Si-eun noona, Joongoo hyung, Donghwan hyung, Jin noona, even those who are not currently on the production team. Thank you so so much ㅠㅠㅠ I think we were able to debut like this thanks to you!! Thank you so so much!!

And the A&R team! Thank you, Jiyeon noona, Jihyung noona, Bohyun noona, Ara noona, Dayoon noona, and Jena noona for the hair and makeup test, and thank you for always being there during trailer and MV filmings and watching us until the end. I am always so grateful to the hair and makeup staff noonas who always work hard on site and help me, and to the stylist hyung, noonas who always dress me up in pretty clothes! Thank you for being so nice to us, and please continue to treat us well!! I would also like to thank director Kim Yongsoo for filming this music video and trailer beautifully. I'm really glad it came out so nicely. Also, Booba takes great pictures of us, and I'm often surprised at how great the pictures are. Please take more good photos in the future!

Yumi-ssaem, who always helps me with vocals, I will work harder from now on, and Sujeong-ssaem, who always gives me kind words, thank you. Music team Soonhyung hyung, Hana noona, and Jeongmin noona, thank you for helping us produce good songs. And thank you to the PDs and writers who helped Stray Kids broadcast. I think we was able to do so well thanks to them~^^

Thank you to the teachers at my school, and thank you so much to my friends who support me! And I am so grateful to Mom, Dad, my older brother, and my younger brother Yoon for always supporting and taking good care of me. I hope to become a great son to my mom and dad. I am also grateful to my relatives who always support me.

To the 0th generation fan club members and everyone who loves Stray Kids even if they are not from the 0th generation fanclub, I love and thank you so much. Please take care of me in the future. Thank you. Lastly, I would like to thank my member hyungs. I love you, thank you. Let's last a long time!

[Every time Jeongin writes Stray Kids in English, he tries to write it like Chan/the logo, and it's so cute 😭]

Stray Kids

We would like to thank PD Park Jinyoung and CEO Jeong Wook, who always say good things to us and set us great examples, and Vice President Jo Haesung, Vice President Byun Sangbong, and Pyo Jongrok, who always cheer us on with a smile and give us strength.

Jiyoung noona, Yuri noona, Youngkyoon hyung, Anjin noona, Yeonsik hyung, Allen hyung, and Seongha hyung who have taken care of us and guided us on a good path since we were trainees, Hyunkyung noona, Si-eun noona, Joongoo hyung, and Donghyun hyung who always greet us with a smile, Jin noona, our Stray Kids team representative Ji-eun, Soojin noona, Jeonghan hyung, Yoonjeong noona, Sunmi noona, Jiyeon noona, Eunyoung noona, Jiho hyung, and Yeji noona, who always care for us, take care of us, and say kind words, thank you so much.

The music team, Hana noona, Jane noona, Soonhyung noona, Jeongmin noona, who work hard together day and night to make our album great, and the production team Jihyung noona, Bohyun noona, Tae-eun noona, Jeongeun noona, Yeona noona, Soyeon noona, Jiyoon noona, Ara noona, Dayoon noona, Jena noona, Sinae noona, who improve the quality of our album!! Thank you for always working hard for us who are lacking. And to the recording engineer team that beautifully polishes our songs, team leader Taeseop, Hyejin noona, Hongjin hyung, Sehee noona, awesome~ Hansoo hyung, Minji noona, and Sangyeop hyung~~ Thank you for always making our songs of better quality. ㅜㅜ

Thank you to 2PM team leader Chaeyoon, Manager Gwangmyeong, Hwamok hyung, Eunseop hyung, Sooyeon noona, and Mihee noona for being so kind. We are truly grateful and look forward to your continued support!! We are always so so grateful to the performance directing LAB team, including Namyong-ssaem, Hyungwoong-ssaem, Assistant Manager Heeso, Gwangyeol-ssaem, Taehoon-ssaem, and Dasol noona, who teach us our choreography.

Artist Headquarters 2 Head Heewon, Gyunghyun hyung, Seongsu hyung, Jeongyu hyung, Minsung hyung, Assistant Manager Leewon, Assistant Manager Jihye, Yejin noona, Seonkyung noona, Ryerim noona, Assistant Manager Jong-gu, Assistant Manager Yeonjung, Ari noona, Sangho hyung, Donghyun hyung, Jasung hyung, Hyejin noona, Hyesoo noona, Narae noona, Artist 3 Headquarters Manager Hyunkook, Team Leader Joon-gil, Yongkyo hyung, Seonhwa noona, Sora noona, Team leader Haejoon, assistant manager Bora, assistant manager Hyoyoon, Nayeon noona, Jongbum hyung, Raejang hyung, Yongjin hyung, Daseol noona, Hyukjoon hyung, Hanmi noona, Saerom noona, Studio-J headquarters manager Hoyoon, team leader Youngjun, Assistant manager Sungjin, Gyungsin hyung, Junghyun noona, Yejin noona, Kangsoon hyung, Haram hyung, Sihyung hyung, Dayeol hyung, Assistant Manager Yerin, Jihyun noona, Ji-eun noona, Seunghee noona, Hyeri noona, Mujoon hyung, Gayoung noona, Acting Management team's team leader Ga-eul, Manager Sanghyun, Soonho hyung, Jaehyung hyung, Seungwon hyung, Taehyung hyung, Daehoon hyung, Sungbum hyung, Sanghoon hyung, Donggeun hyung, Assistant Manager Narae, Da-ae noona, Sojung noona, Manager Youngjoo, Assistant Manager Hwayoung, Hyunsun noona, Director Sangho of the Public Relations team, Manager Yoonji, Assistant Manager Seoyoon, Dayeon noona, Ye-eun noona, head of the Broadcasting team Jincheol, Assistant Manager Younggeol, Jaeseo of the Secretarial team, Gyungmin hyung, and Miri noona.

Advertising team Manager Jaeho, Assistant Manager Jungyoon, Hosoo hyung, Seongmin hyung, and Na-eun noona. Team Leader Eunwok of the Performance Business Team, Assistant Manager Seungeun, Assistant Manager Hyojung, Yujin noona, and Jeongmin noona. Yongho of the Management Resources Office, Team Leader Hyojung of the Accounting Team, Deputy Manager Yoonjoo, Manager Jinyoung, Assistant Manager Boram, Sister Sejin, Gyohee noona, Team Leader Sunghyun of the Human Resources and General Affairs Team, Manager Gyungjin, Hyunjoo noona, Kangmin hyung, Junho hyung, Team Leader Jongwook of the Legal Team, Changwoo hyung, IR team leader Younghwan, IT team leader Park Chan, Manager Siyong, Assistant Manager Chanmoo, F&B Team Leader Sunkyung, Manager Jaeyoung, Cafe Business Team Manager Sungho, JYP Pictures Manager Rayoung, Assistant Manager Jihye, Gyungheun hyung, JYP Publishing Team CEO Jungyoon, Manager Minji, Assistant Manager Daye, Hyunwoo hyung, JYP Japan Deputy Branch Manager Gyunghee, Manager Narita Rinko, Assistant Manager Jihoon, Assistant Manager Park Won, Team Leader Saiki Ayumi, Sungbeop hyung, Minaka Miho noona, Assistant Manager Sung-ah, Mina noona, Sudo Huuka noona, JYP China branch representative Cheolhoon, Director Yoomyo, Team Leader Miran, Songyoung noona, Team Leader Sungcheol, Assistant Manager Yoosin, Sooyoung noona, Rui Yakpyung noona, Jinhee noona, Team Leader Hyoyeon, Assistant Manager Hagon, Ihan noona, Weeryang, Assistant Manager Jangman, Assistant Manager Gyunghwan, Sangdal noona from the JYP Pictures China team, JYP Thailand branch director Gijae, assistant manager Nutcha Chansing, assistant manager Wasinee Srithavatch, Charunya Thairuksa nim, Vilaiwan Yodmai noona, and writers from the JYP publishing team Jisang hyung, writer Eunji, writer Tommy Park, and writer Eunsoo, writer Woomin, writer Jiwook, writer Daesung, writer Seunggeun, writer Seungsoo, writer Minhyung, writer Hyunkyung, writer Yongwoon, Armadillo hyung, Frants hyung, writer Itoyo, writer RAINSTONE, Garden hyung, writer Haesol, writer Joohyung, writer Seunghyuk, writer Jungsik, writer Inkwan, writer Wonjoon, and the company's seniors, Yubin sunbaenim, Hyelim sunbaenim, 2PM sunbaenim, Fei sunbaenim, Suzy sunbaenim, Baek A-yeon sunbaenim, 15& sunbaenim, GOT7 sunbaenim, Nakjoon sunbaenim, DAY6 sunbaenim, TWICE sunbaenim, Somi sunbaenim, we would like to thank all the JYP family members who helped us debut, and as JYP 's maknaes, we will work hard to become Stray Kids with pride! Thank you to everyone and we ask for your interest and anticipation in the future!! We will work hard without wavering and show only our best side!! Thank you!! We love the JYP family ♡♡

Thank you to Trippy hyung, writer Kim Park Chella, Jisang hyung, Jeongseok-ssaem, writer Lee Woomin, writer Fredro, and the two writers of Faces of Glory for collaborating on such great songs. Director HIGHQUALITYFISH, thank you so much for filming our music video and trailer in a cinematic way. Boobagraphy, thank you so much for capturing our pretty and wonderful sides in your photos. Additionally, Director Jei, Jiwon noona, Jihyun noona, and Miri noona, and other noonas who always bring vitality to our looks! Thank you for letting us take beautiful photos. Also, we are really, really grateful to Director Youngjin, Sangcheol hyung, Hyoseok hyung, Sera noona, and Mijeong noona, who give us wings with their stylish clothes. We will work harder as you make it more beautiful. Please continue to be with Stray Kids, hwaiting!!

I think we exist because of our fans. We felt like we had to work really hard when we saw people waiting outside until late to support our stage even though it was cold. Thank you so much for always supporting and giving us so much love!! We will continue to work hard to show you a good and unchanging image. Will you continue to love us a lot in the future? Thank you ♡ We love you ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

To the members of our 9 families who always support and take care of us, thank you so much for giving birth to us and raising us!! Thank you for taking care of us whenever we are sick and watching over us from afar. We miss you a lot, and we will be great on stage, so please keep an eye on us ♡♡ We love you ♡♡

Lastly, our Stray Kids brothers! We've been running with the goal of debuting, but think of it as a new start rather than an arrival, so let's work hard and make sure that something good happens!! Let's rely on each other and keep it like this and run again!! Stray Kids, let’s turn everything upside down, hwaiting!!!!

#stray kids #skz #skz stay #bystay #skz i am not #bang chan #lee know #seo changbin #hwang hyunjin #han jisung #felix lee #kim seungmin #yang jeongin #stray kids translation #hi chris how ya doin #it's so humbling to go back to the beginning when they drew small crowds on the street and seeing how they thought back then #and even back then you can see how much they loved and valued every single person they worked with #and cared about them as humans rather than like. Soulless Lowly Workers Who Are Beneath Me.#heck I've worked retail jobs where I've been treated with less respect as a person than these men—teenagers at the time!#—gave their makeup artists and photographers and cubicle workers #their humility really isn't something that's just for show that they put on after they blew up #so as long of a job as they made it for me to translate their thank you notes I'm still left appreciating them that much more in hindsight #if you read this far here's a peanut 🥜#unless you're allergic to peanuts in which case i will give you something else nice

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sungbeam · 1 year ago

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describe your favorite mutuals & their bias/biases <3

omg i always feel so much pressure for these cuz i have quite a handful of moots but i shall try my best !! thanks for ur ask anonie o7

@justalildumpling & na jaemin — both just uber delulu and mutual orgasm donors 😭😭 their astrology/horoscope reading says they'd be good for marriage, but i think WE r a much better match 😚 anyways, i love u j my beloved wife and soulmate !!

@jaehunnyy & jung wooyoung — bro i didn't know which teezer to pick for u 😭😭 but since the craze lately has been mr wooyo 😗 chip is just the sweetest and most wholesome bean ever?? (except lately 🤡 woosan is getting to her) but she deserves the absolute world

@winterchimez & lee sangyeon — my parents !!! absolutely adore ally :')) she's always encouraging my shenanigans and one of the most supportive people on this app. i feel like every day i learn that we have another thing in common w each other LOL

@ethereal-engene & lee jihoon — NO CUZ EKFNEKDK when i tell u ash looks like woozi (゜-゜) im not even kidding, they both look SO good in specs and i love ash sm, she GETS ME and im so convinced we're like actually long lost relatives 😭😭 the way she puts up w my shit and supports me all the time :')

@loveliestfelix & choi yeonjun — omg no because nana is supermodel material?? supermodel gf and bf say HUH???? her writing is something to fall head over heels in love w !! my beloved angst queen 🫂 ilysm im always thinking of u <3

@tranquilpetrichor & (i wanna say) yoon keeho??? — eris i just realized i don't really stan some of the groups u do and i haven't seen u talk abt ur biases recently 😔 SO PLS DO TELL ME ABT THEM !! but i wanted to include u here bc it didn't feel right without u 😭 but she's so underrated and one of the chillest people ever, and a literal ballerina like 😳 that shits hard bro

@zzoguri & ji changmin/kim sunwoo — MY FELLOW KYUBODAN MONI AHHWHDINEJDJD they are AMAZING at writing??? i guarantee u will fall in love w their style, and they're also just so easy to vibe w and talk to 🤧🤧 hope to get to know u even better bestie :'))

@haet-sal & ju haknyeon — CAKECEYYYYY 😩😩😩 ik the ship name is hakcey/hickey LMAO but cake 😎 anyways LMAO lacey is prob who i aspire to be?? 😭 like u guys don't understand how pretty this girl is and the fact that she's SO COOL TOO?? i feel like i'd be so intimidated by u irl tbh 😳

@goldenhypen & jake sim — my canadian counterpart and chinese 04 twin 💖💖💖 i miss u sm omg i will always uphold that em is one of, if not, THEE nicest person on this app. like if u touch her I HURT YOU 😐🔪 she is sooo so compassionate and caring and just wah i love u sm i hope ur doing alright :'))

@sseastar & byun euijoo (i think? im sorry i don't stan &team 😔) — yet another author here who's style of writing absolutely blows me away skdnkendk like the slice of life ghibli movie vibe of her writing makes me SING and she's also a very cool woman in stem™ </3 she's also so soft and sweet, and i only have the most tender of thoughts toward her

@hqrana & omg im so bad i know eric sohn for sure 😭 — we actually haven't talked about many other groups besides tbz and svt skdnekdk OKAY BUT MY MARVEL MOOT !!! i treasure noa so much, like what a star and the way we literally have so many fandoms in common??? for the longest time (and still) i look forward to interacting w her just cuz she is absolutely SO fun to talk to 💖 ly bff

#sungbeam strikes again #lovely anon <3 #moot ❧#okay that took longer than i thought it would 😭😭 i just realized a lot of u prob know my biases but idk urs 💔💔

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junkobato · 5 months ago

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Upcoming Kdrama August 2024 🌈

2/8: Bad Memory Eraser with Kim Jae Joong, Jin Se Yeon, Lee jong Won. 16 episodes; rom-com.

10/8: Romance in the House with Ji Jin Hee, Son Na Eun, Choi Minho. 12 episodes; melodrama, romance.

12/8: Your Honor with Son Hyun Joo, Kim Myung Min, Kim Do Hoon. 10 episodes; thriller, law, crime.

14/8: Perfect Family with Park Ju Hyun, Yoon Se Ah, Kim Byung Chul. 12 episodes; thriller, family.

14/8: the Tyrant with Cho Seung Won, Kim Seon Ho. 4 episodes; sci-fi, fantasy.

16/8: Black Out with Byun Yo Han, Go Jun, Kim Bora. 14 episodes; thriller, mystery.

17/8: Love Next Door with Jung So Min, Jung Hae In, Yun Ji On. 16 episodes; rom-com.

17/8: DNA Lover with Choi Siwon, Jung In Sun, Lee Tae Hwan. 16 episodes; melodrama, rom-com.

23/8: Pachinko 2 with Lee Minho, Kim Min Ha, Noh Sang Hyun. 8 episodes; historical, melodrama.

23/8: The Frog with Go Min Si, Yoon Kye Sang. 8 episodes; thriller, mystery.

24/8: Cinderella at 2 AM with Shin Hyun Been, Moon Sang Min, Yoon Park. 10 episodes; rom-com.

26/8: No Gain, No Love with Shin Min Ah, Kim Young Dae, Lee Sang Yi. 12 episodes; rom-com.

Many new shows coming up just in time for my vacation!!!

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save-the-data · 10 months ago

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Jazz for Two | S01E06

Korean Drama - 2024, 8 episodes

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diverseinsertknet · 2 years ago

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Navigation by K-pop Group Names A-F

Look for the reader insert fic you want at DiverseInsertKNet with links organized by Group Names A through F below. This list will regularly add groups and idols as more stories are reblogged to the network. Entries without a link are currently in the queue and waiting to be published. Desktop/web browser users- the original version of this post on DiverseInsertKNet will always be the most up to date.

Our navigation page has links to groups with other names listed alphabetically as well as fanfic labeled by Gender and other kinds of diversity.

K-pop Group Names A-F

AB6IX- Jeon Woong

A.C.E- Kang Yuchan, Kim Byeongkwan, Kim Sehyoon, Lee Donghun, Park Junhee

ASTRO- Cha Eunwoo, Kim Myungjun, Moon Bin, Park Jinwoo, Park Minhyuk, Yoon Sanha

ATEEZ- Choi Jongho, Choi San, Jeong Yunho, Jung Wooyoung, Kang Yeosang, Kim Hongjoong, Park Seonghwa, Song Mingi

Block B- Ahn Jaehyo, Kim Yookwon, Lee Minhyuk, Lee Taeil, Park Kyung, Pyo Jihoon, Woo Jiho

BOYNEXTDOOR- Han Dongmin, Kim Donghyun, Kim Woonhak, Lee Sanghyeok, Myung Jaehyun, Park Sungho

BTOB- Im Hyunsik

BTS- Jeon Jungkook, Jung Hoseok, Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin, Kim Taehyung (V), Min Yoongi, Park Jimin

CRAVITY- Ahn Seongmin, Ham Wonjin, Kang Minhee, Kim Taeyoung, Koo Jungmo, Allen Ma, Park Serim, Seo Woobin, Song Hyeongjun

DAY6- Kang Younghyun, Kim Wonpil, Park Sungjin, Yoon Dowoon

DPR Ian Christian Yu

Dreamcatcher- Kim Minji

ENHYPEN- Kim Seonwoo, Lee Heeseung, Nishimura Riki, Park Jongseong, Park Sunghoon, Jake Sim, Yang Jungwon

EXO- Byun Baekhyun, Kim Jongdae, Kim Junmyeon, Kim Minseok, Oh Sehun, Park Chanyeol, Zhang Yixing

#masterlist #navigation #diverseinsertknet #male reader #gender neutral reader #kpop fanfic #kpop fic #directory #kpop x male reader #kpop x gender neutral reader #kpop x gn reader

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rancidtae · 1 year ago

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ARCADIA’S LULLABY | CHAPTER 4

Genre: Mafia AU. Vigilante AU. Sci-fi (AI). Warnings: non-consensual drug use Pairing: exo & Original Female Character (Jung Jiah/Kang Rina) - Kim Minseok/Original Female Character - Zhang Yixing/Original Female Character Word count: 5k chapter summary: while the team is tailing Rina, Baekhyun gets hit with a feeling he thought he'd forgotten. a/n: I feel like a bunny calico critter scattering easter eggs here and there. btw this is where our flashbacks start, so keep an eye out for the date tags at the beginning of each scene

remember what's gone before not loaded with regret

masterlist meet the characters

081222 - 11:00 pm

Byun Baekhyun's a homebody. Always has been.

As the overseer of, well... everything, project manager, and human tech support, his days consist of sitting at the base of operations, otherwise known as home. You’ll find him surrounded by his monitors, headset always in place, eyes everywhere at once.

If there’s a security camera or a mic near, he’ll have eyes and ears on the scene.

Guaranteed, baby.

But he's not against changing the routine from time to time. If anything it’s healthy for his back. He’s 30 now. Paying for years of bad posture is proving to be unavoidable.

And when it came to this, he had to see it for himself, right?

Because what better opportunity than being hit with the discovery that your childhood friend, who you considered dead for the past decade, is out there, alive?

And if that’s not enough of a plot twist, get this: someone just put up a generous price on her head.

He’s here to make things a little less invasive after tampering her security system. Sending Sehun, a stranger, to enter her personal space while she’s out at a party simply felt wrong. Granted, he hasn’t seen her or spoken a word to her for at least a decade, but that’s what happens when you think someone’s dead and you’re not the type to fuck around with the Ouija board.

But they spent their childhoods and the uncomfortable purgatory that teenage years are together. They held a funeral for mintchoco, the tiny little lizard at Arcadia, her father’s Arcade joint, and buried him at the park two blocks away. She framed some guy for distribution of tentacle porn at the church youth club because he burned him with a cigarette. He was there for her first breakup and her emo phase. She burned his eyebrows off playing hot potato.

You don't just forget about things like that. It all must count for something, that’s what he tells himself as he pushes the door to her empty apartment open.

“Hi, Rina.”

“You know she’s not here, right?” Sehun says behind him, the entrance corridor’s light turning on make him jump and clutch his heart.

He forgot the guy was there. It's always the same with him and Jongin, they walk so quietly, it’s like dealing with a couple of overgrown cats.

“Yep, I’m aware. I’m just practicing.”

He’s spent the last week thinking about what he’ll say to her once Yixing stops gatekeeping her attention, suggesting a sturdier doorlock might be too much of a giveaway.

This is it. A typical small loft made of white walls and laminated floor. A small bathroom right by the entrance, a compact c shaped kitchen with a short bar table and two chairs tucked in. The living room consists of a simple green Ikea sofa with a table and a tv in front of it. There’s also a desk next to a globe lamp and a bookcase. It has little to no space available, all the books fit snugly into place.

It’s… cozy, homely down to the details; small potted plants, a quirky variety of mugs, more plants by the balcony, a cat rug on the narrow stair leading up to the open mezzanine. There’s a messy bed up there, just on top of the kitchen.

Sehun hates those. It's common knowledge. He always hits his head on the ceiling.

Speaking of, he's flicking through her vinyl collection. “She’s got good taste.”

“How is it?” Junmyeon asks through the line. He’s back at home with Kyungsoo. They're overseeing the operation while Jongin, Jongdae and Chanyeol are tailing her.

Fucking weird.

It’s undeniable; someone lives here. This is the space of a functioning adult. It’s hard to picture her when she was neither of those things when they last saw each other.

“You can take a look for yourselves,” Baekhyun says, finding the perfect spot for the nano cam on a frog figurine. “All good, Kyungsoo?”

“All good,” he confirms. He sounds stiff, more than usual.

Baekhyun’s not any less uncomfortable than him about planting spying devices on her, but everyone agrees and understands why it’s necessary. Usually, he’d just hack into her tv camera or her laptop, but none of those devices gave a decent POV.

One camera is aimed at the entrance and another is angled from the kitchen. He puts the last one on a corner of the living room, looking in from the balcony. He does his best to avoid her bed upstairs.

“You hid them well?” Jongdae asks. Everyone’s on the line tonight except for Yixing and Minseok. “You know it won’t be pretty if she ever finds out.”

“I’ll come back and take them off myself once we’re sure she’s clear.”

“She can throw a fit if she likes. Faking her death means she loses privacy rights.” Chanyeol says.

“Alright Vladimir,” Baekhyun shakes his head at the amused glance Sehun gives him from the kitchen. He looks like a Barbie trapped in a Polly Pocket house.

“I’m just saying. Be an asshole, get treated like one.”

The recent discovery of Jung Jiah has had polarizing effect on the team. No one’s been more vocal about their discontent with her than Chanyeol, but that’s to be expected, and Kyungsoo’s sulky as well, spending more time with his plants on the terrace.

While Jongdae and Junmyeon remain as neutral as they can, Yixing’s with him on this one. The two agree that as long as they’re in the dark when it comes to her whereabouts, passing judgment on her is not a fair move.

Minseok, on the other hand, has been making himself extra busy at work, all death-trap eyes when he thinks people are not looking, no feedback during meetings when she's brought up, so that’s bound to be interesting.

There’s of course a Kim Namjoon factor around her that they can’t ignore.

Minseok and Junmyeon got home that Friday night with the certainty that he knew, and that he intended to drop the revelation on them.

One thing is clear in the middle of all that confusion, he wants to use her as leverage. He waited until Minseok signed the syndicate deal, successfully infiltrating the organization after months of negotiations, and put her on the table like all five of Exodia's card reunited.

But that doesn't explain the biggest mystery of them all. How did Kang Rina go from being locked up in a federal prison in the middle of nowhere, to the center of Seoul's crime ecosystem as a uni student/journalist under the name of Jung Jiah?

New name, new life, writing for a newspaper, pissing off the wrong crowd, a deadly post it note with Kim Namjoon scribbled on it attached to her head.

“How’s it going in there?” Sehun asks.

“So far so good. Jongin approached her. She's acting tough, but she doesn’t look too upset about it.” Chanyeol says.

It’s too bad that Jongin turned off his mic. There’s a bet going about whether or not she’ll respond to his charm. Jongdae swears Jongin’s everyone’s type when he works his magic, but Baekhyun disagrees. He’s too tall, too young and he’s missing the cat eyes.

For now, Baekhyun's putting the emotional shock to the side and handling this like she set a life-sized board game for them to figure out. If there’s one thing he had in common with her, is being a mystery enjoyer.

There are smartly placed storage cabinets everywhere to save up room like in most of these small single-bedroom apartments. She’s made good use of her entryway closet, it’s stacked with winter shoes, coats, all sorts of bags, and two or three umbrellas.

“Sehun, get your hands out of the fridge, you didn't even wash your hands.” Kyungsoo scolds.

“She has cat food, but I don't see a cat” Sehun hums. “And for the record, Baekhyun was going through her underwear drawer before he set up the cameras.”

“What?”

“See how he’s not even denying it?"

Baekhyun might’ve fought the false accusations, but he happened to be going through her coats and just noticed a barely noticeable irregularity on the wall– a seam where there shouldn’t be one. Pushing everything to the side and inspecting the interior more closely, he runs his hands along the smooth wooden surface.

Wood, not wall.

And exactly like he was hopping, there’s a line there, he feels it.

“Kyungsoo, I left the security UI tab open, can you do something for me real quick?” he asks, using his phone flashback to inspect the sides of the closet, finding a blank outlet.

“Sure.”

“Look through the 220 volts outlets and devices. Uh– there should be one for the ac units, the washing machine, the water heater, cooktop…” he starts counting with his fingers “It’s definitely a circuit of its own.”

“I see a weird one, it doesn't have a name though.” Kyungsoo mumbles.

“It’s a date,” Junmyeon says. “October 10, 2020. Does that sound familiar?”

No, but they can figure that out later.

“Can you try that one? Just poke it, see if anything happens.”

And just like that, a section of the wall springs forward with a quiet click. Baekhyun just can’t help the delighted grin that takes over his face. He loves his job, he really does. It's unfortunate that her name came up and she's in danger, but she doesn't disappoint.

“Gotcha, Rinrin.”

“Can you stop talking like she’s there in the room with you? It’s creepy.” Jongdae says.

Chanyeol calls his name. "I think you’re losing that bet."

“What makes you say that?” he asks idly, pushing the door open.

“She just looked at Jongin like he’s nothing more than a piece of meat.”

“Jongin, if you’re listening, reel it in, alright? Overdoing it might blow in your faces.” Junmyeon warns.

Fuck the bet, Baekhyun thinks, he’ll pay for Jongdae’s meals for the rest of the year after this. This, right now, is promising to be a goldmine.

He crosses the threshold, exits another closet just like hers, and finds himself inside the adjacent apartment.

“Baekhyun?” Sehun calls out. He crawls out of the closet and looking around in awe. “Wow. She’s definitely wacky.”

“Kind of” Baekhyun laughs airily, making his way inside and turning on the lights on.

It’s the exact same layout as hers, only mirrored, absent of any furniture other than a desk and a simple chair. It feels more spacious like this, and the temperature is not warm, nor cold, just at the right spot to feel comfortable.

But there's a wall, and things take another turn. Sehun and Baekhung stop and take it in.

“Not kind of, totally wacky. Something is seriously wrong with her.”

“She got it from her dad.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Kyungsoo asks like he fears they'll say they found human bones.

“I’ll send you pictures in a bit,” Baekhyun assures, attention sucked in.

Now standing in the middle of what should be the living room, the grin slowly relaxes to a curious, careful little smile.

Just what have you been up to, huh?

“Wait, hyung, how’d you know she’d have something like this?”

271111 - Eleven years ago

She called his name and said,

“There’s something I want to show you,”

Baekhyun gave up on the Spiderman-themed decorations. The guys would arrive in about half an hour with drinks, food, and cake for Chanyeol's 19th birthday party, just before the rest of the people they invited, and if Minseok made it, he'd absolutely fix and organize everything to his meticulous standards.

So he jumped from the chair, dusted his hands, and followed her into the backroom.

There was a time, when they were kids, when he envied her so much he sometimes questioned their friendship.

How could he not? Her father owned an Arcade, and that alone gave her a 1% kind of privilege over all the kids at school. Mr. Kang was probably the coolest adult he knew. Everyone liked him at school; he was the teacher that let people hang out in his office and gave free coding lessons on the weekends.

To sum it up, Rina always had it good. She inherited his smart genes, so she didn't have to work herself to the bone to get into a good school, and even if she failed academically, she'd definitely inherit Arcadia.

Now, as a 19-year-old and as a part-time worker for her father's Arcade, Baekhyun had started to feel a hint of pity for her.

It began when she brought up her suspicion about her father hiding something—a family on the side, a shady job, gambling addiction. Chanyeol and Jongdae dismissed her worries and called her paranoid.

And honestly, Baekhyun kind of agreed with them, he just wasn’t that upfront about it. Eventually Rina moved on, started dating some flower boy that was way more into her than she was for him, got her hair done, and that was it.

But late afternoon, when he was getting rid of paperwork from months back and had nothing better to do, curiosity and boredom got the better of him. He sat down and paid attention to the numbers.

Things didn’t add up.

Arcadia was barely making any profit, sometimes not even enough to cover his salary. Granted, Mr. Kang had inherited the building, so he didn’t have to worry about rent. The electricity bill, the water bill, and maintenance costs were consistently covered. Baekhyun had no idea how much being a math teacher paid, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t nearly enough to get Mr. Kang out of the red.

That was two months ago, and Rina didn’t have much of a reaction when he mentioned it, so that was that. Assuming that she’d moved on for good, it didn't cross his mind until pay day came and Mr. Kang acted as relaxed as always.

It definitely didn't come up as he followed her into the dreaded utility closet where they had once encountered the biggest, fattest spider ever.

Then, she opened the wall right inside the closet.

A door. Where he never knew there was one. Because it was a wall. And walls usually don’t open or have hidden hinges like that.

But this one did.

Hesitating but kind of curious, he followed her down a dimly lit set of stairs, his hands trailing along the wall.

There was always something about stairs when you don’t know where they lead you. Fear pulled at his gut.

“Say rinrin...” he began, voice wobbly.

“Mhm?” she responded, her unbothered tone added to his unease.

“This seems kind of unsafe, don’t you think?”

“You’re good, don’t worry,”

That didn't reassure him much, but being Rina, how bad could it be?

Before he could play off his concern with a joke, cold lights blinded him. The peeling paint on the walls and outdated vinyl floors gave the basement an eerie feel. A chill started to get to him, this room wasn’t heated.

Not that they could afford that anyway.

Rina waited for him at the bottom, red beanie on top of her head, washed-out strands of blue highlights coming down her shoulders.

“Dude.”

“Alright, I’m going. You kind of look like a zombie flick character in this lighting, by the way. Like you just got bitten, but people just can’t tell yet.”

The basement sprawled out before them, larger than any basement Baekhyun had seen. Endless pipelines crisscrossed the ceiling, and despite the layers of dust, it looked and smelled relatively clean.

It really was cold as fuck.

The was a desk in the middle of the room, with a chair he recognized—a high-end, back-friendly model. Crazy expensive.

But that wasn't it. Several empty server racks lined the back. Baekhyun had never seen that many in his life.

“Wow.”

“Right?”

On the desk were two quad monitor mounts, a keyboard and mouse. Everything covered in a light layer of dust.

“I looked through the paperwork the other night,” she said, watching him curiously hit some keys. “I found blueprints. They didn't include this, but the utility plans mentioned a basement.”

He counted up to fifteen rack cabinets around them, all empty except for one, tucked away in the corner.

“You’re the only person who knows about this,”

His head whipped in her direction.

He felt kind of proud first, knowing that he’d been the first person someone trusts with something. She had Kyungsoo, Minhee, Minseok, and now her lovesick boyfriend. Chanyeol and Junmyeon as well. But she chose him.

But then it settled on him. She’d just put the responsibility of being the only other person to know about this place.

She’d been right all along.

Mr. Kang was hiding something, and it all led down to this basement. Baekhyun knew it looking at the cluster of servers. It just had to.

081222 - 11:30 pm

Sehun is, once again, going through her personal belongings. So far he’s found a loaded 22 under the bed, a brand new set of throwing knives wrapped like a Christmas gift inside her closet, and a hideous khaki jacket with tangled up faux fur on the lapel and cuffs.

“Why is Baekhyun quiet?”

Baekhyun’s sure taking his sweet time back in the eerie mirrored apartment, deep in a trance induced by all the information on the wall-sized bulletin board.

Sehun took a look at his eyes, realized that he wasn’t even listening to him, and decided to give the guy some alone time.

Everyone’s emotional these days.

Earlier today, Baekhyun told him that things could ultimately fall into his and Jongin’s hands, seeing that they're the only members of the team not compromised by personal involvement. He didn’t think much of it then, now it looks like he might've been right.

“He’s busy.” he mumbles, eyeing the small desk just opposite her bed. He has to bend his back to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, his neck is starting to strain.

Stationery junkie. Explains the bulletin wall. She must take her Pinterest boards extra seriously.

Junmyeon is not happy with the lack of explanation. “Doing what? Why is he still in the closet?”

Chanyeol cuts in. “I’m not gonna make a joke out of that sentence. But I could, if I was in the mood. I’m just not.”

“He found a hidden door inside the entryway closet, it’s connected to the other apartment. She has the creepiest bulletin wall. She has pictures, documents, maps. Nothing related to Lee Chungjae, I think.”

Whatever intel she has in there, it looks like years' worth of work.

Sehun is more concerned about how a journalist can afford double rent in this economy and how she got a secret security door installed without the building owner finding out and getting a hefty lawsuit.

He's kind of impressed..

Chanyeol sighs. “She has a fucking death wish.”

“No. She has a job.”

“Oh. That's definitely not a work thing, that shit is personal. Stalker levels of information. And she definitely doesn’t want anyone getting their hands on it.”

He would've approached it differently—nothing as flashy as a whole wall filled up with evidence. But he respects her for staying on the analog side of things.

If there's something they know in their line of work, is that digital means vulnerability.

But still, it took Baekhyun less than an hour to find his way in there, perhaps even less time than it would've taken him to find it if she stored everything in a bulletproof server.

All the effort, surely a few paychecks of investment, all for someone to go through that door and just find hard evidence on everything.

“Guys, this is gonna be awkward,” he says, pausing before further investigating her pink skincare mini-fridge. “But she’s got– uh, a fuckton of downers in here.”

He’s seen some shit in his own time, but nothing like this. Several crystal bottles neatly lined up next to her toner pads and chemical exfoliator.

“Ok,” Junmyeon says, very carefully. “What– what kind?”

“Isoflurane.”

"That's not even a thing. You just made that up."

“You're joking.”

“Isn’t that... anesthesia?” Jongdae asks, but it looks like he already knows the answer.

"Anesthesia!?"

Sehun would love to know how she gets her hands on it. Few substances are as meticulously handled as anesthetics.

He holds a bottle in his gloved hand and reads the label. If he remembers correctly, isoflurane vaporizes at room temperature, so it makes sense that she keeps them here. Inside a skincare fridge, though? Who even thinks of that?

But she sleeps with a 22 under her, so there’s that. Absolutely fucking wacky.

“But she doesn’t look– you know? She seems healthy. Yixing says she looks great.” Kyungsoo argues, sounding really against the notion that she might be using. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“There’s something called high-functioning addiction.” Chanyeol counters.

“I know that. But it doesn’t make sense.”

Sehun agrees.

We’re missing something here.

Frustrated, he moves on to a plastic storage box under her desk. The first thing he finds, much to his surprise, is a bunch of packaged gas masks.

She’s meticulous. She carefully set up the door and the wall at other apartment. But Baekhyun found it. Easily. Like it was child’s play.

There’s a package underneath the gas masks. Blue filter replacements. Enough of them to make him stop in his tracks and his stomach drop.

He recognizes this grade. They’re made specifically for toxic fumes and chemical substances.

He slams his head against the ceiling.

“Fuck!”

“Sehun?”

Sehun rips the plastic with his teeth, hastily puts a mask on. And runs down the narrow stairs.

“It’s a setup.”

He runs down the corridor.

Inside the closet.

Pushes the door. Enters the mirrored apartment.

And there’s Baekhyun, sprawled on the floor, motionless.

Unconscious.

081322 - 01:45 am

They’re usually better than this.

As in, most days in this job don’t end up with two people in the emergency room, and someone donating blood.

Turns out he has the same blood type as Miss Nut Nut.

The night came to an end in a blur, and then things slowed down to an almost unbearable pace. Thankfully Dr. Jangmi picked up Junmyeon’s call immediately and made sure Baekhyun and the girl –who got in the way of a bullet, successfully this time– both had the best attention. As soon as possible.

Naturally, and thanks to the fact that they knew what substance he was on, Baekhyun gets discharged first, within hours.

He looks like he’s seen better days, pale skin, dry lips, IV drip next to him as Jongdae wheels him inside the private waiting room. Still, he flashes a boxy grin, rolling his eyes at the different looks of concern he gets.

“Wait, listen– it wasn’t that bad. I think I could be a drug addict in another life.”

Some find that funny, some don’t. Overall, everyone’s relieved to see that he feels fine enough to joke around.

“How’s she?”

“Still in surgery,” Kyungsoo says, holding an empty cup of coffee between his hands.

It’s been a while since they’re all in the same room at the same time. There’s always more than one person missing, even when they go out for a meal and drinks at night. Usually, it’s Jongdae and Minseok, sometimes it’s Yixing.

“Is it bad?”

Jongin blinks down at the floor, fresh out of the shower, with a fresh set of clothes on. His whole shirt and lap were soaked in blood. Through and through. Sehun took a look at him and let him know that he would kill it in any Japanese horror movie, and congratulated him for surviving his interaction with Miss Saw.

“She lost a lot of blood, but they have it under control. They’re fixing up an artery right now.”

Minseok walks in, tie undone, bags under his eyes, a cloud of tobacco around him. He closes the door behind him and nods at Baekhyun, coming to rest a hand on his shoulder.

Jongdae offers to get another batch of coffee.

“You alright?”

“A little drowsy, but it’s cool.” he fixes his throat. “It’s like waking up from the best worst nap ever. Uh– she knows, by the way.”

Minseok’s fingers running through his hair still, Baekhyun fears for a moment that his fist will close. His scalp is too sensitive.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Jongdae, be a sweetheart and get me some water, please. I’m still,” he grabs the handles of the wheelchair, ignoring the awaiting eyes on him. “figuring this thing out.”

“What does she know?”

Jongdae forgets about the coffee and gets him a bottle from the fridge.

"For fucks sake, Baekhyun."

He holds a finger up, taking short sips and making sure to wet his lips. Kyungsoo stands up and swiftly grabs the bottle from his hands.

“Talk.”

“That is incredibly rude, I almost died tonight.”

“And you still can. Start talking.”

“Ok. Alright. Look, she doesn’t know know, but she’s… well on her way there.”

All eyes are on him, as if waiting for the punch line to drop, or for him to start laughing and tell them how bad they fell for it.

Junmyeon’s careful blink means he knows there is no such thing as a joke going on at the moment. “What are you saying right now?”

“She knows about High Tide. She doesn’t know know about the Arcadia Initiative, but she’s… I don’t think she’s that far off. Oh, and there was... something called Project Selene."

“Is it ok to talk about this here?” Sehun asks, side-eyeing Jongin, and finds that his face is contorted in a strange grimace.

Junmyeon stands from his seat, running both hands through his hair, sounding breathless. “How’s that even possible?”

“She talked to Krystal, they met at some point. She must’ve been one of her sources.”

Sehun wonders if his ears are deceiving him. “What?”

“I’m sure of it. She saw my tattoo and mentioned a friend who had one just like it. Red, back of her neck. It had to be Krystal.”

Chanyeol’s voice is hoarse and quiet. His hands hang between his thighs, a grimace wrinkling his face.

“That’d be shitty, wouldn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“After Mr. Kang... you know. She was right about him from the start.” he chuckles humorlessly “And now when she’s close to finding the truth, if she-- if she doesn’t make it--”

Baekhyun cuts him off. “That’s fucked up, man.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I was angry and I got distracted. This wouldn’t have happened if didn’t stall.”

“It’s not your fault.” Kyungsoo protests, put off by the fact that he’s considering such a thing, looking around for backup.

“We all made the call. I could’ve stepped up, talked to her and got her out of the city for a while, and we could’ve avoided this.” Yixing follows, putting his hand on Chanyeol's shoulder. “So don’t blame yourself, Chanyeol. We’ve had a rough night, but she’s stubborn. She’ll pull through. Dr. Jangmi's helped us out of worse before.”

“It was a delicate situation, we all knew there was an added risk.” Minseok's tone is unreadable. But there’s nothing new about that.

“You’re right.” Yixing nods. “We’ll discuss what we’ll do about... everything Baekhyun found in its due time, once she recovers. And we’re all cool-headed.”

“Yeah. Let’s just... deal with this later.” Junmyeon says. There’s a haggard look on his face, but his bloodshot eyes keep staring at a specific spot on the floor, probably already thinking of the implications of this revelation, of the consequences, and the possible moves to make.

Jongin and Sehun share a look. The tension has risen again, as it has several times this week when the subject comes up. Every single time it feels like an argument is imminent and shit will hit the fan, though it never quite gets there.

And it only adds up for the next time.

“What’s there to discuss?” Minseok asks in a tone that leaves no space for answers, regarding Junmyeon and Yixing with a coldness in his expression that takes Sehun by surprise. "Isn't it obvious?"

His tired expression from before and heavy eyelids have sharpened to a stern mask they’ve seen only a few times since he met him. It’s not usual that Minseok talks like the eldest, so when he does, the room stills and holds its breath.

“The second she learns the truth this will make it to The Chronicle’s front page. When that happens, this all goes down, we go down, and she goes down. They won’t be this sloppy.”

Junmyeon looks away, jaw clenched. Chanyeol keeps his eyes on the floor. Jongdae looks out of the window at the view from Kyunkook Hospital. It started to rain a few minutes ago, and he can’t tell if the timing is terrible or soothing.

“She's not a risk we can afford to take.”

Baekhyun looks down at the diluted blood filling up the drip chamber in his hand.

Only Yixing looks directly at Minseok while he’s speaking. His expression gives away nothing.

“Jung Jiah can never know the truth. She got close, and that’ll be it. We'll make sure of it.”

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