#id.cherry bomb

[idolizenews]

CHERRY BOMB!’S MONA BECOMES A NEW FACE FOR PUMA

1. [ +1,229 , -151 ] Wow, isn’t she the perfect fit? Seriously, her visuals have only improved since Kpop Star and the activewear is exactly her style 2. [ +923 , -129 ] Ah, her body.... I should really go to the gym after work today.... ㅠㅠㅠ 3. [ +527 , -86 ] Puma’s really good at choosing their brand faces aren’t they? First Atlas and now CHERRY BOMB! ㅋㅋ I bet they’re doing well~

[idolizerp]

LOADING INFORMATION ON CHERRY BOMB!’S MAIN DANCE GUN MONA...

IDOL DETAILS

STAGENAME: N/A CURRENT AGE: 25 DEBUT AGE: 19 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 14 COMPANY: MSG SECONDARY SKILL: Modeling (cf)

IDOL PROFILE

NICKNAME(S): Momo, Moe, Mong (몽), 징징 INSPIRATION: As a child, she’d perform for her father, her brother, and eventually her small town community and found a lot of joy in entertaining them and making them laugh. She’s always loved performing and singing, but hadn’t really thought about doing it for a profession, despite being musically inclined. A young fan of the first-generation K-pop groups like S.E.S and Fin.K.L., she was persuaded to perform on K-pop Star just to see if she liked performing, and found it exhilarating. Hasn’t looked back since. SPECIAL TALENTS:

No-laughing challenge master

Notoriously bad at tongue twisters

Has a whistle register

NOTABLE FACTS:

Very active on her personal and the groups’ SNS and interacts a lot with fans of both the group and herself personally

When she was a K-pop Star contestant, she notably performed ‘U Go Girl’ and impressed the judges with her energy (and cuteness)

Is “jokingly” known to be a huge party girl, idol friends and celebrities she’s familiar with say she has an “iron stomach” when it comes to soju

Known for her funny expressions that can’t hide how she feels - most often it’s her resting bitch face or an unamused one, but also some wacky ones

Crochets little stuffed animals as a hobby

IDOL GOALS

SHORT-TERM GOALS:

Right now, she’s looking to solidify her position as a “CF queen” — wants brands to look at her as someone that’s popular with general public and that, frankly, they’ll shell out big bucks to exclusively sign as their brand model. She also wants to venture into another field or two to supplement the wave of popularity she’s been lucky to experience thus far: an acting stint, perhaps, or maybe variety where historically she’s been a little bit more successful and more comfortable with. More for herself than for her career, she’s been keen on becoming serious as a performing artist, and is looking into music production in her spare time.

LONG-TERM GOALS:

As her relevance (also known as: time frame) as an idol fades, Mona would want to try to go solo, since her love for her craft is a life-long one, but is more than ready to complement a solo career with recognition for the other talent she’s currently deciding between. She’d like to transition her “image” as that charming, relatable girl-next-door look into someone more womanly and self-assured. Someone authentic. In a more career-oriented sense, she wants to achieve the ability to pick and choose the brands that she models for and still receive hefty contracts, in the vein of Won Bin’s star power. Overall, she’d like to shed the ‘idol’ image and turn into that of an ‘artist’ - someone well-respected in the public eye that carries life-long relevance.

IDOL IMAGE

It’s an undeniable truth to say that there is a first impression of her, and that it is always, without fail, this: she’s pretty. Remarkably pretty, in a plain, malleable sort of way. Not too sharp that she cuts, alienates — just soft enough to mould into whatever you want her to be. Most people don’t care for much else besides the first look, so it’s perfectly fine that she’ll be the pretty one, memorable if only fleetingly. It works, anyway — the relatability of her features, parts of it (of her) desirable and the other parts identifiable, make her an easy pick-up for brands to plaster on their products. Girl-next-door with wisps of maturity, of a sex appeal her members don’t quite possess. The kind of soft girl that the public loves to rest between their teeth. Palatable — just so.

You don’t have to be much more than a pretty face and a good dancer, they’ve told her in the past. Don’t stray from your design, is what they mean.

Don’t be you. There’s nothing appealing about it.

She tries. Walks the tightrope between the image of her and the girl inside — tries to dull a blunt tongue, smooth a passionate expression, tame the soft cruelty that makes up her marrow. Spends years running back and forth between wanting and having. Should haves and could haves. There’s the artist she wants to be, the truth that wants to will itself into existence; then there’s the girl that’ll actually succeed — merely pretty, with hidden laughs and closed smiles, speaking well but not too much, both seductive and restrained. So consumed by the thought of others that she tries to smooth herself out until there’s nothing left of her, manufactured out of her system.

She’s told, time and again, that her beauty is the only thing that matters — and, to be frank, she’s tired of it. Tired of being told. So she resolves to take it — their power, her weakness — into her own hands, tilt the scales in her favor. Manifest destiny, or some bullshit like that.

The public eats it up.

The newfound authenticity to her — the poignant way she expresses a confidence she’s found that she’s had, how she isn’t afraid to be desirable, how she pushes the boundary of acceptably self-loving is not so off-putting as it is intriguing. Everybody loves to hate on a woman in control, except with the way she carries herself, haughty but not in-your-face, there’s less to hate and more to admire. It helps that she’s older now, less tied to a youthful, innocent image and settling into the confident niche of her group like she was always meant to be there. Girl-next-door that’s matured into a woman — still pretty, still relatable, but with a voice that’s truly her own. Fears nothing: not the hurtful comments, lustful gazes — doesn’t mind being the sophisticated ‘sex bomb’ she’s grown to be one minute, all-natural the next, an everyday adult woman.

It’s appealing, she supposes, to see a girl grow up. Become more assertive, fill into her skin (or shed the layers that were well past due). Not trying to appease, not blinded by the limelight. At a time when she’s finally happy with herself, everyone seems to be happy with her too. With a tacit blessing, she’s let herself be unafraid to be her, for now.

Just don’t stray out of line, they whisper.

(I don’t care, she wants to say back.)

IDOL HISTORY

In the summer of 1999, she leaves.

.

It doesn’t take Mona very long to realize that her mother isn’t coming back. What with the way her father sits on the side of the bed that used to be hers, head in his palms, back poised for a knife that isn’t there, but it feels like he’s bleeding anyway. She stops questioning him soon after that — too scared, perhaps, of the consequences. One parent’s gone, no need for another to disappear too.

Home isn’t ever the same afterwards. Going from four to barely three leaves a big gaping hole in the fabric, seams loose and aching. Dinners, for example, are sombre affairs, heavy with the knowledge of the empty chair at the table. Weekends, too, are quiet — where her mother used to sing, silence makes itself heard, a loud ringing in the ears. The sound of loss is deafening, they all find out in time.

She tries to pretend that it’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine.

(It’s not, of course. Six year old fingers aren’t meant to hold up the spines of men — their wilting, their hollowness. No wonder she doesn’t grow up proper; no wonder that there ends up being something wrong.)

There are days when her father cannot look at her. She has her mother’s eyes.

.

Sunday in July. S.E.S. and sunlight waft through old speakers and cracks in the curtains respectively. Like calm before a storm.

Mona can’t help but sing along when the chorus comes on, all light tone and childish chipper. She realizes — there’s been no singing since she left. Since she took the singing with her. Stops short when father’s wiry figure hovers at the doorway, quiet as always. Time won’t heal his wounds, but it has allowed him to forget as a reprieve. Until now.

“I didn’t —“

“Keep singing, Mona,” he says. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen such a smile — so sad, but so happy at once. “It’s beautiful.”

So she does.

.

The moment she steps onto the shining, fluorescent-washed stage is the time she realizes: it’s different. Not at all like sinking her feet into the sofa of her living room, moving like clockwork to her father’s favorite songs, singing along. Nor is it like standing on the rickety wooden floor of her local community center, performing for the people she’s grown up around, who would love her no matter what she’d do.

This is Seoul, with all of its steel and its glamour and a cruelty that leaves fourteen year old her starstruck. This is the tipping point.

After all is said and done, she doesn’t get very far. Pretty, and a vibrant performer, but too rough, too unpolished to win a competition of the best. She’s not even sure the praise they’d given her was real — everything about it had seemed so manufactured. Machinery running through their motions. Leaves her feeling like she had less than she had started with; and she wants more.

Someone slips her a small white card before she leaves the building. You’ve got potential, they’d said. Audition.

Weeks pass and the details imprints themselves into the back of her brain: rudimentary black symbols that bely the possibility of fame, of fortune, of a life greater than her small town all in the sharp cuts of their lines. Curiosity has always been her vice, thorns strangling tighter until she has to find out what’s on the other side.

The tension, her wanting: both palpable. Her little town on the outskirts of Daegu cannot contain it. Everything’s tasteless, everything’s sober. It’s painfully obvious that she wants this. Wants more. Her mother, she recalls, had felt the same way. The parallels scare her. Her mother’s eyes. Her mother’s voice. Her mother’s self-regard. Hers, now, too.

She hates the look in her father’s eyes when she says she’s going to Seoul. Hates it even more when she forgets how he looked when she gets accepted by MSG entertainment, to begin her training as soon as possible.

When she packs her bags and says goodbye, she leaves him slumped in the dining chair she’d made her own for years.

Three becomes two. Feels like there’s nothing left of family anymore.

.

Trainee life is cyclical. Breathe in, breathe out: dance, sing, weigh, repeat. She wonders: why did they let her through when all they seem to want is to strip her gone? They lash her tongue to strip the satoori from her vocabulary; starve away the parts of her that make her her — her bold tongue, her small-town naivety, her childish innocence. Scrub the poverty from her until she’s wiped clean. You’re not here to be you, they tell her in between lines. You’re here to be a god.

Giving her best becomes harder when there’s nothing left to give, so she starts giving pieces of herself in its place. She wants this, she wants this, she wants this. Guilt propels her — her father, all the way back in Daegu, sitting with his head in his palms like she’d left him, just like her mother had before her. All the way here and she hears his howling (or maybe now it’s coming from her).

Torn between this choice: the her of before, and the her that could be.

She chooses the latter. Too many bridges burnt now to go back, she thinks. See the selfish through.

.

Idol life is an open door leading straight into hell.

She’s always so tired. Always so lost. She’d thought wrong: had been mistaken that they’d finally let her be when she debuted. Their hands go deeper now — not ghosting along the lines of her, but into her, become her ribcage and her spine and her mouth. Dissonance, it’s termed: her between closed doors, witching hour in her bedroom, and her in front of the camera. Does her father recognize her? Does she?

Pretty, they tack onto her shoulders. Pretty and docile. Perhaps it’s because she’s become awkward — lost her confidence as she’s risen to the top — but when they tell her keep quiet, she listens. Strange, feeling faceless when the only thing she’s known for is her face. It frustrates her, going through the motions, known foremost for the outside of her, a part of her that’s been an afterthought; then, just barely, how well she dances, how her body moves. Nothing about her — her love for music, her craft, or how funny she can be, or how much she wants to just be.

When she left her family, when she chose herself over others, she didn’t think she’d lose them both.

One day, her father calls. Asks why she sounds so sad. Because I left you, she says. Because I was selfish. And all for nothing — now I can’t even sing how I want, or act how I want, or be how I want. Are you proud of me? Do you hate me for leaving you behind?

Keep singing, Mona, he says. It’s beautiful.

(Be you, Mona. You’re beautiful.)

So she does.

.

Maybe her wounds will heal — maybe, quite possibly, they won’t. But inevitably, she’ll forget them once in a while. Slowly, she learns to let herself go — that is, the idea she has of herself go. It’s no good trying to be someone she’s not; she’s no actress, not at all suited to playing a part. They’d told her it would be her downfall, being herself,  being real. She intends to make it her strength.

It starts off slow, the slippage. A strut down the walkway, a haughty gaze at the camera, a flash of skin here and there. Candid in her interviews, still reserved, but more at ease than ever. Yeah, she’s watched adult films; yeah, she can hold her soju; yeah, she’ll talk about how she had loved a boy and lost him. The more she lets loose, the more comfort she feels — the most comfortable she’s felt in her own skin in years.

In the end, they’re intrigued by this new girl in front of them — the rawness, the realness, the subtle haughtiness. Who is this new Mona? They ask.

She’s always been this Mona, she says, smile on her face — open-mouth, teeth shining and everything.

For the first time, she feels centred. Feels alive.

[idolizenews]

AJ’S FIRST COMMERCIAL WITH BRAND RELEASED

1. [ +660 , -181 ] But AJ...I already buy my entire life from GMarket...how do you expect me to support you even more... 2. [ +543 , -102 ] AJ’s dancing is always so fun to watch! I can’t wait to see more of her together with GMarket. 3. [ +465 , -176 ] This is such a great match~ AJ is so relatable, but they really managed to show her strong performance at the same time??

[idolizenews]

‘LEGEND OF THE BLUE SEA’ CAST FINALIZED WITH CHERRY BOMB!’S SOPHIA, FILMING TO BEGIN NEXT MONTH AND SET TO AIR IN JUNE

1. [ +1,791 , -158 ] Hul ㅋㅋㅋ Park Juwon and Sophia are the leads? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wow, she’s so shameless isn’t she? I feel sorry for her fans, is she just doing this drama to rekindle their romance? ㅋ 2. [ +1,512 , -126 ] Ah... but why... the plot sounded fun so I was looking forward to this but... this casting... ㅠㅠㅠ Park Juwon deserves an actual actress as his lead, not some idol ㅠㅠ So annoying...   -- Have you even watched anything she’s done? Her acting seriously improved lately~ Just wait for the drama to come out before you judge her ^^~ 3. [ +1,006 , -79 ] Honestly I’m not a fan of idols in dramas either, but I was really surprised by her when I watched Mr. Sunshine!! I’ll have to watch this when it comes out~ 

[idolizenews]

CHERRY BOMB!’S SOPHIA TO STAR AS LEAD IN UPCOMING DRAMA MY MISTER!

1. [ +1,752 , -178 ] But... why... I was really looking forward to this drama because I trust the director but... f*ck I’m seriously so tired of idols moving into acting, just leave it for the actors... 2. [ +1,491 , -110 ] I’m a fan of CHERRY BOMB! but even I wish Sophia would stop acting... all her past dramas have flopped, how did she even get a lead role like this?? Just stick to singing, Seolhee-ah, please ㅠㅠㅠ 3. [ +1,056 , -89 ] Hmm... I’m still excited because the director is trustworthy but I only remember feeling betrayed when Sophia’s dating news came out before whenever I see her face... Maybe she’ll surprise us like she did back then and do well in this drama this time? ㅋㅋ 

[idolizenews]

CHERRY BOMB!’S AJ BECOMES A HEROINE ON STAGE

1. [ +1,931, -217 ] This year was seriously so good for us AJ fans wan’t it? ㅋㅋ Anyway, I hope she continues doing more solos like this, AJ fighting!! ♡ 2. [ +1,528 , -163 ] Ah... honestly even as a CHERRY BOMB! fan I’m so tired of MSG pushing AJ so much... they have 3 other members too, why don’t they push them as hard??? She’s not the only good member and it’s getting really tiring seeing her everywhere...   3. [ +1,351 , -109 ] Wowow after seeing the stages, I’m convinced she was seriously born to perform ㅠㅠㅠ  

[idolizenews]

CHAIN STATION DEBUTS WITH HONEY BEE, FEATURING: HEAVEN’S BELAIR, CHERRY BOMB!’S AJ, AND NIGHTMARE’S EUNSOL

1. [ +1,018 , -191 ] Wow, I’m speechless, thank you Umbrella Tree for this unexpected daebak collaboration... the song is so good... 2. [ +775 , -125 ] Hul ㅠㅠㅠ can’t they just be a permanent girl group??? They’re seriously no joke together both visually and vocally...  3. [ +410 , -76 ] Bee honey bee bee for the ~~ the song is so catchy, I’m looking forward to the other chain station releases now too!!

[idolizenews]

CHERRY BOMB! COMES BACK WITH PEEKABOO

1. [ +2,031, -321 ] As expected of CHERRY BOMB!, the music video and lyrics are.. mm...  interesting ㅋㅋㅋㅋ But why can’t I stop hearing it in my head...? Of course, you can always depend on them for catchy songs~  2. [ +1,598 , -206 ] Finally... this is the CHERRY BOMB! I love ㅠㅠㅠ They seriously suit this concept so much better than Power Up, thank you MSG ㅠㅠㅠ  3. [ +1,052 , -139 ] I prefer their fresher concepts, this is just too strange... and I just keep thinking of Pikachu at the end ㅋㅋ So cringe...

[idolizenews]

CHERRY BOMB! COOLS DOWN THE HOT SUMMER WITH REFRESHING ‘POWER UP’ COMEBACK

1. [+ 2,013 , - 211 ] Ba-banana ba-ba-banana-nana ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why is it so freaking catchy... I can’t get the chorus out of my head... ah, as expected of CHERRY BOMB!  2. [+ 1,786 , - 161 ] Ahh ㅠㅠㅠ I’m so happy, it’s so cute and bright, isn’t it perfect for the summer?? Me too, I wanna throw myself into the Kauai waves ㅋㅋ 3. [+ 1,511 , - 129 ] What the... why did they go back to the bright concept out of no where?? I became a fan after Dracula, but what is this again??? 4. [+ 1,267 - 97 ] Isn’t the choreography so fun too?? Of course, it’s MSG class~ This one wins the summer battle for me personally ^^ 5. [+ 983 , - 73 ] ㅋㅋㅋ The lyrics... as always, they’re always so weird... I guess at least this one kind of makes sense? But still ‘teacher told me to have fun’ ㅋㅋㅋ when was the last time any of them were even in school...  

[idolizenews]

And also when he accidentally gave himself away as the criminal while trying to wow her, but she was suspicious because Jaekyu could never figure out something like that clue on his own ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

It was so early on in the episode too, I bet the staff were so flustered because of him ㅋㅋ

But seriously, they’re so cute together... I’m so jealous... ah... I always laugh while watching them on the show together and then after... I feel so lonely ㅎㅎ I need a cute dumb boyfriend too f*ck

POST RESPONSE | [ + 564 ] [ - 69 ]

1. [ ㅇㅇ ] They’re so fun to watch on both Invincible Youth and Crime Scene, even if it’s just a storyline, isn’t their chemistry really daebak? I think even if they started dating, the fans wouldn’t go crazy because they really fit so well 2. [ 보니앤클라이드 ] I started watching the show just for Jaekyu, and at first I was jealous how he kept chasing her around, but her reactions are so cute and funny that now I think I like AJ more than him ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Sorry oppa... I’m a bangerz now.... 3. [ ㅇㅇ ] Honestly, don’t they fit so much better than AJ and Marco though? She should just ditch him for Jaekyu ㅋㅋ

[idolizenews]

CHERRY BOMB! HYERA CONFIRMED TO JOIN THE DRAMA ADAPTATION OF ‘CHEESE IN THE TRAP’ CAST

1. [+ 1,351 , - 207 ] Everyone keeps saying the webcomic fans are just being picky with the cast but honestly... when we keep seeing casting decisions like this, how can we not be? ㅋㅋㅋ Ah, seriously, when will idols stop joining dramas... 2. [+ 1,267 , - 199 ] I haven’t watched anything she’s done yet but what are the writers doing casting an idol for Baek Inha??     -- If you haven’t watched anything she’s done yet, then why are you talking ^^ She’s not bad just because she’s an idol ^^ 3. [+ 1,125 , - 118 ] Hul ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I can’t imagine our Hera acting like Baek Inha, but I’m excited to see her version of her!! Ignore everyone else, Hera, your bangerz believe in you ♡ 4. [+ 1,004 , - 97 ] Wow, CHERRY BOMB! is seriously everywhere these days, I can’t even go to the mini mart without seeing one of their faces.. but I’m not complaining, aren’t they all so pretty? 5. [+ 851 , - 52 ] She’s been acting a lot more lately, I’m so proud ㅠㅠ

[idolizenews]

CHERRY BOMB!’S AJ TO BECOME RECURRING GUEST ON MASTER KEY

1. [+ 1,445 , - 217 ] She’s honestly so charming to watch, I’m excited ㅠㅠ She’s so good on Crime Scene too, I bet she’ll do just as good on Master Key, AJ fighting!! ♡♡  2. [+ 1,283 , - 195 ] Did MSG forget about the rest of the group? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ All I ever see is AJ and now Hera everywhere, aren’t there two more members? I already forgot their names.. 3. [+ 1,058 , - 164 ] Hul... but when does she get to sleep... Your bangerz are worried ㅠㅠPlease take care of yourself AJ ㅠㅠㅠ 4. [+ 927 , - 103 ]  She’s seriously everywhere ㅋㅋ Ah... I should really date someone famous too... 5. [+ 753 , - 78 ] Wow... MSG is really greedy, too greedy, do they need money that badly that they have to put her everywhere? Don’t they make enough off Honey already?

[idolizenews]

NEWSFLASH EXCLUSIVE: ‘CHEESE IN THE TRAP’ DIRECTOR FOUND TO BE RELATED TO BAN GROUP, POSSIBLE INFLUENCE IN CHERRY BOMB!’S HERA CASTING AS BAEK INHA? 

1. [+ 1,856 , - 271 ] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ CHERRY BOMB! just keeps buying their way into things... what are they, a sponsorship group?  2. [+ 1,639 , - 228 ] Must be nice to be born with money or have a company do it for you ㅎㅎ Everyone in this group just keeps throwing money around to get what they want while I work all day like an idiot, this is why they say it’s useless to worry about celebrities~ ^^ 3. [+ 1,217 , - 198 ] I was wondering how she got casted as Baek Inha when all the other dramas she’s done so far haven’t done well... This explains it ㅋㅋ 4. [+ 1,135 , - 104 ] Ah seriously, I’m so sick of all these idols getting drama roles because of their family connections... isn’t it so unfair to rookie actors who actually want to act and didn’t cheat by becoming an idol first? ㅡㅡ;  5. [+ 865 , - 68 ] As a bangerz this is so frustrating... ㅠㅠㅠ Why does MSG keep using money and connections instead of pushing their talents??? Do they want them to do bad or what??

[idolizenews]

But really, isn’t she the top for brands right now? 

I keep seeing her everywhere I go, it makes me so proud ♡ I wonder what brand she’ll take over next~

Even my mom said she’s freaking pretty when we went to the grocery store and saw her on the Chamisul boxes ㅋㅋ

POST RESPONSE | [ + 392 ] [ - 28 ]

1. [ ㅇㅇ ] I started watching Crime Scene 2 for Jaekyu, but suddenly I started paying attention to AJ more ㅎㅎ Sorry oppa... 2. [ 넘조위해 ] OP my mom started falling for her too, we were watching Invincible Youth together and she wouldn’t shut up about her ㅋㅋ 3. [ ㅇㅇ ] Honestly I’m so tired of seeing her everywhere, MSG needs to stop pushing her. What are you proud of, that she’s dating Marco? F*ck I can’t wait until this bubble bursts   -- Seriously when will you bumblebees leave us alone, it’s so obvious you’re jealous of CHERRY BOMB! these days ㅋ

[idolizenews]

CHERRY BOMB! HOLDS COMEBACK SHOWCASE FOR ‘PEEK-A-BOO’

1. [+1,909, -303] Peek peek a peek a boo~ So catchy, let’s do well this comeback Cherry Bomb! ♡ 2. [+1,763, -264] The music video ㅋㅋ they always have such weird videos, refreshing to watch 3. [+1,532, -239] Ahh the dance is so good, as expected of Cherry Bomb! 4. [+942, -125] Why do their lyrics never make sense??? 5. [+347, -43] They always have such interesting concepts and the beat is cool, I hope this album does well!!

[idolizenews]

MSG CONFIRMS AJ AND MARCO HAVE BEEN DATING FOR 3 MONTHS

1. [+3,793, -592] Marco’s at the age for marriage and kids, what’s he doing with someone her age??? 2. [+2,652, -443] I wonder how her parents feel.. maybe her mom was a fan of Marco when he was an idol? ㅋㅋ 3. [+1,327, -221] Ha.. no wonder I’ve been seeing her everywhere lately.. Congratulations AJ, isn’t this a good thing for you? 4. [+568, -88] Wow, this is random...??  5. [+180, -20] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ so this was why cherry bomb was caught up in sponsor rumors..