Table of Contents p. 01 Letter from the Editor p. 03 Poll Results p. 07 GET VIXXED!
p. 02 Contacts p. 04 Meet Byulbeat! Introducing DX’s first partner
A Very VIXX Halloween
p. 10 p. 12 The Dark Idols
Member Spotlight
N Joy!
p. 14
Fanart feature
p. 15 Halloween MV Playlist
Khao p. 16
Fanfic feature
p. 20
Twisted Tale by oppajusshis
Serial Fic
Through A Dirty Window, Chapter 1
p. 24 Beautiful MV, Beautiful Liar
letter from the editor
H
appy Halloween! It’s a wonderful time of the year for VIXX stans– all those fantastically spooky concepts come to the forefront as everyone begins to get ready to don their best costumes and celebrate. VIXX has had great success with their dark concepts, and it made perfect sense to the team and I to focus on VIXX’s dark concepts for the Halloween issue. I hope you really enjoy the content we’ve brought to the table this month, as it was not without its trials and tribulations. While the path of the zine may still be unclear, I can feel it solidifying and strengthening. More and more the zine is becoming something for Starlights to use as an individual platform to showcase their talents or the things they’ve accomplished. I hope everyone who reads DOUBLE X will pay special attention to the effort our Starlight friends have put in to show what kinds of things they can do. This month, we featured a drawing from my good friend Khao, a dark comedy fic by oppajusshis, and a photograph taken by an international Starlight of N at Sukira. In the future, I hope we can show even more from Starlights around the world. Because even though stars may be far apart from each other, they still shine brightly enough to be seen, right? (/corny)
DOUBLE X will continue to improve, and I want to remind our readers that you do have a say in what goes into DOUBLE X, so never be afraid to speak up to either myself or any team member! We’re all very proud of what we do and want to share it, and each one of us would be happy to answer any questions or receive feedback. Which, speaking of team members— Sammi, one of our columnists, has been in and out of the hospital this last month with kidney stones and went in for surgery on October 20th; please send her some good healing vibes! Sammi is the youngest (and tallest) member of the DOUBLE X team, and she is continually improving— we can’t wait to have her fully back. Get well soon, Sammi! Without further ado, I present to you the Halloween issue of DOUBLE X! Creepy Ken hand compels you to enjoy.
Best Wishes,
Thia
Editor-in-Chief and Director
contact us! DOUBLE X
Twitter: @DOUBLEXVIXX ask.fm: ask.fm/doublexvixx Email: doublex.zine@gmail.com
TEAM CONTACTS Thia
Editor-in-Chief, Director Twitter: @kimwondick AFF: wontaeks Kakao: huannng Email: corinthiawarner@gmail.com Website: corinthia.co
Mel
Cha
Fanartist Twitter: @ravissnapback
Zeon
Auxiliary Columnist, Assistant Editor Twitter: @hakyeons_tummy
Serialist Sam Twitter: @wonshiktv Assistant Editor Tumblr: wontaektv Twitter: @SAM_NNNNN AFF: milk-tv
Meagan Ray Chief Design Assistant
Columnist Twitter: @taekwoonshik
Sammi
GUESTS oppajusshis
Columnist Fanfic feature Twitter: @dandypop2 aff: oppajusshis Tumblr: dandypop2 Instagram: dandypop11
Khao
Fanart feature
Stephanie Twitter: @hyuktv
Columnist Twitter: @AGENT__STEPH Tumblr: stepchanie
PARTNERS
Byulbeat Radio Yanie Twitter: @byulbeat
Columnist Website: byeolxbeat.wix.com/byulbeat Twitter: @vixxology Mixlr: mixlr.com/byulbeat Website: yanie.net
Questions or comments? Please don’t hesitate to contact DOUBLE X or any team member! We would be happy to talk to you. DOUBLE X does not own any photographs within this publication unless otherwise stated, and this publication is not-for-profit. All written, drawn and graphics materials are original and owned by their respective writers or artists. Please do not plagiarize any original written content or repost art. All other materials belong to their original sources. DOUBLE X does not use any fantaken photographs in its publications without prior consent.
! n i e r a s
03
t l u s e r he
T
poll results
We asked a handful of Starlights who they think is best at executing VIXX’s dark concepts, and the winner is...
Leo! Congratulations, Dark Prince Jung Taekwoon!
yay
04
! t a e b l u by T E E M
Introducing DOUBLE X’s first partner: International Starlight Radio, Byulbeat
d
ouble X has had the fortunate opportunity to form a partnership with a unique new fanproject called Byulbeat! We’re very excited to share our new partnership with our readers, so Zeon, our team member who first suggested that we should partner with Byulbeat, conducted an interview with DJ Jee, the main DJ and founder of Byulbeat. Q: Can you introduce Byulbeat and the Starlights behind it? A: Before introducing Byulbeat, I, as the founder of Byulbeat, would like to thank the director of Double X and their members for offering me the opportunity to work with them. It’s really an honor to be one of their partnerships. “Byulbeat” is a brand new radio launched on September 29th, 2015. It’s a special and unique radio made for VIXX by International Starlights. This radio has a double aim: to share and prove our love to VIXX, and the most important one, to help Starlights get closer and connecting all together through music, interactions and passion. Starlights’ Radio ‘Byulbeat’ exists thanks to the love of two little Starlights who wanted to do something different and unique. Something they thought people would be curious and interested in. To introduce the starlights behind it, we first have Jee (me), who is Byulbeat’s founder but also the main DJ of the radio. She is also known as the excited and cheerful Starlight who always try to cheer up everyone with her words! She is N biased. Secondly, we have Byulbeat’s assistant and cowriter, Min. She can be identified as the shy Starlight. She doesn’t talk a lot, but she loves and knows what to write, and also loves helping the
staff with points to correct, explain or clarify in the radio’s script. She is Leo biased. Q: How did you get into VIXX? A: I knew VIXX since their debut— the first video I watched of them was their second teaser for Super Hero in 2012. But they didn’t really catch my attention... except for N, because of his beauty, hehe! I wasn’t really into them until they came back with On and On and totally left me speechless as they changed a lot, getting a bit darker and sexier (laughs). With this comeback, they caught my attention a lot and I started to get more and more interested as time went by. I definitely got addicted to them when I watched all of their MTV Diary episodes, falling for their adorable baby faces and their dorky and childish sides. Q: Can you talk about the different corners? A: About the corners, we have distinct and specific one for each day. We broadcast the radio four times per week: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 10 PM GMT (4 to 5 AM KST)! On Tuesday, we have ‘Memories with VIXX’; it’s a corner where we mostly talk about VIXX’s past with Starlights. As the title says, we try to combine any special, unforgettable, funny or crazy memories with VIXX from anywhere: events, variety shows, performances, backstage, concerts and so on. There is also the “Starlights’ DJ Time” where Starlights can submit their favorite K-pop songs through our website so we can play them during our radio show. On Wednesday, with ‘VIXX BOX’, you will be able
05 to hear anything related to VIXX. We want to share and talk with Starlights about their facts, hobbies, their friends, families. We particularly want to show another facet of VIXX, mostly for those who don’t know them a lot. We would like to show the outside; things a non-fan man not see if they don’t follow VIXX. It will be mostly about showing and hearing their covers, raps, lyrics and compositions (mostly from Ravi and Leo), their imitation skills, etc… A full corner of VIXX information, along with Jee’s playlist, where you will be able to hear her favorite K-pop songs, from the recent songs to the old ones. On Saturday, we invite Starlights from around the world; we settled to invite about four or five people for our “Let’s meet Starlights”; a corner where we talk with guest Starlights about a specific topic announced beforehand on our Twitter! We came up with this corner thinking it would be a great way to talk to other Starlights and share opinions, getting closer and being able to have a good time with each other! Finally on Sunday, we have the summary of the past week thanks to “VIXX NEWS”. We wanted to help Starlights that may be too busy to catch up with everything or were missing some events or news about VIXX. As we also sometimes feel and experience this, so we thought it was great to help other Starlights by updating them on VIXX’s schedules, so they would just have to listen to our Sunday’s corner to be caught up. The little Sunday’s bonus is that every two weeks, Byulbeat has a VIXX quiz to test STARLIGHTS knowledge, ranging from five to eight questions depending on the week’s prize. These are the defined corners for the whole week. Of course it could change with time if we succeed on lasting for a long time; we would probably tweak it a little bit if we get some better suggestions and ideas from Starlights! Q: Have you had any previous experience with doing radio? A: I personally have never had any previous experience with radio hosting.
This is going to be my very first time to host a radio show and being the main DJ of it. It’s really a new experience but I’m sure it will be fun and exciting. As long as people love it, I have no reason to dislike doing it. Q: What is the reason that made you want to start the show? A: I said it many times and I wouldn’t mind saying it another time, but the main reason why I started this radio was because I wanted to show my love and supporting VIXX with other Starlights in new and unique way; something different. I had this idea for several months already but I never had the courage to make it real. But recently I saw a Korean fan (nonVIXX, another fandom) doing a radio show for their group and this is when I decided that I would make it for VIXX too. Q: What was the easiest and hardest part of starting up the show? A: I would like to talk first about the hardest part of creating a radio, which is also the basics of ‘Why would you start a radio’: script and conception. What I mean is, of course, we could only play music and have our radio based on it, but instead we wanted an interactive radio. A place where we could talk with people, getting closer to them and have fun with them. Getting various and creative ideas really was the hardest part. It needs lots of imagination and is something that can take plenty of time, if we weren’t really motivated to do it. It may not seem like it, but it took hours of work to develop our program. We needed to find corners people would be interested in, would be eager to participate and answer our questions, and mostly for people to show the desire to listen to our radio. After this part was done, we had almost everything ready. The easiest part was promoting our radio and trying to catch people’s attention.
06 Q: What was your influence for starting a radio show? A: My influence for starting a radio show was mainly listening to other professional radios, such as VIXX N KPOP, and also Sukira (Super Junior’s Kiss the Radio) and SSTP (Shimshimtapa). I think my main source influence for starting the radio was Arirang. I’ve been following Arirang Radio for a long time now, and since this radio is mainly directed for international K-pop fans, I totally loved the idea. I loved how, even if they were far away from the fans, they were still able to communicate with other people, sharing the passion, making people happy and playing games with each other through SNS. I inspired myself a lot on Arirang, hoping I could do something like this with my radio as well. Q: What are your main goals for the show? A: For this radio show, my main goal is to be able to share our love for VIXX with every Starlight around the globe. I think it’s really important to have a dynamic fandom, one with projects, new ideas, and different types of entertainment. It makes it, at least to me, an even better and more interesting fandom. I wouldn’t say a fandom that doesn’t have those things are bad, because they probably have other ways to show their love and I respect that. I just find it way funnier if we can communicate, have fun, and enjoy our lives with different ways with people who love the same group. So I think this would be the top and the main goal of this radio. Iit would be great if we can get more and more people getting interested into our radio. I hope this radio can last for a long time and we will do our best to make it happen, of course. As VIXX can’t exist without Starlights, I hope ‘Byulbeat’ will also be able to last long thanks to the listeners! Q: Do you have any future plans you can share? A: Our future plans for the radio is mainly to be able to improve, getting better and better with experience as time goes. But, talking about concrete future plans, we don’t have any for the moment. I hope it will change as the show grows. We are open to every type of remarks and suggestions.
Q: Anything else you want to add? I would like to thank DOUBLE X once again for making it possible to be in their second fanzine. I hope Byulbeat and DOUBLE X will be able to work together for a long, long time! Secondly, big thanks to everyone who is and will listen to the radio! It probably seems like it doesn’t mean a lot, but to us, it’s really encouraging to work harder for you guys, trying to improve and making our show better. We hope Byulbeat will grow as time goes by! Thank you so much! •
Twitter: @byulbeat Website: byeolxbeat.wix.com/byulbeat Mixlr (Radio): mixlr.com/byulbeat
get VIXXed! a very vixx halloween — by yanie
A
sk anyone from the k-pop fandom for their thoughts on VIXX and they may simply utter: “concept-dols”. They have gained resurgence by doing a wide variety of concepts, from superheroes, video game characters, vampires in space, Jekyll and Hyde, tortured voodoo dolls, cyborgs, and even just normal human beings with a dash of different themes. October 31st is the day Halloween is celebrated, and it’s just few numbers away on your calendar! Many people will be dressing up in fantastic costumes and going to parties or hitting the neighborhood for good old fashioned trick-or-treating. If you’re still confused on what to wear or who to dress up as on that day, you might consider diverging from the norm with some inspiration from the dark and spooky concepts of VIXX.
So what are you going to wear for Halloween? We would love to see your creative takes on VIXX’s looks, so go ahead and tag us in your VIXXed Halloween selcas on Twitter!
Doing your make up to match any of VIXX’s dark concepts would be simple, since much of the make up can already be found in any basic make up bag: foundation, smoky eyeshadow, and eyeliner. As for clothes—you don’t need to buy anything if you’re creative enough to transform your own clothes into something new! Let your imagination flow, and you too could be flaunting your own VIXX inspired Halloween costume!
Check out these ways you can bring VIXX’s spooky style to your Halloween get-up!
S E R I P VAM
DemonS
Admit it, for the Hyde music video, VIXX had grotesque looks. But nevertheless, you found yourself drooling over long-haired Leo! This is probably VIXX’s most iconic concept. Even though we’re still confused about what vampires in suits are doing in space, I bet all of you still would love to pull off this look even just once in your life! To achieve this look, the most important aspect may be the epic smoky makeup. Using a nude lipstick or your regular concealer on your lips gives that chapped and just-bitten look; using a bit of deep red lip stain or lipstick on the inner half of your lips in an ombré style gives a sultry vampire look. VIXX’s eye make up for this era stood out a lot—their smoky black and gold eye can be achieved with black or dark grey and gold shimmery eyeshadow and your favorite eyeliner. There are many video tutorials for this iconic VIXX make up look on YouTube— it’s also easy to copy the look from any photograph of VIXX from the On and On era. For the outfit, of course a customized suit with metal holes on it would be the best! You can customize a blazer yourself using metal grommets of varying sizes, or even just wearing a black or navy blue blazer asis would be a great way to pull off this VIXX look. Pair it with a skinny necktie and dye your hair based on VIXX’s hair colors for this era for a finishing touch—you can use hair chalk for temporary color! Lastly, apply black nail polish and you’re done!
where to buy hair chalk: beauty supply; Halloween stores may carry hair chalk or colored hair sprays. blazer: second hand store; department store grommets: these can be hard to find; grommets are the metal “holes” you see on VIXX’s On and On jackets. fabric stores typically carry a small variety. for large or heavy duty grommets, check out a leather shop!
Pulling a demon look would be easy in comparison to VIXX’s other concepts, since you’ll be only using the essentials: your regular foundation, black or dark grey eyeshadow, and eyeliner. Start with your regular foundation, follow it with heavily smudged eyeshadow, and top it all off with liquid or pencil eyeliner. It’s up to you to do it a la N style by applying liquid eyeliner as if you cried a whole year! For the outfit itself, you could wear a sleeveless black tee—or, if you want to look like Dr. Jekyll gone bad, you can opt to wear a white coat or loose white turtleneck. A clean white blazer would do the trick, but if you’re after a more mad scientist look, you can pick up a white lab jacket at a medical uniform store!
where to buy blazer: second hand store; department stores lab coat: medical uniform store; Halloween stores may also carry inexpensive lab or medical jackets.
Voodoo dollS
Who could forget the era and concept that gave VIXX their first win? Wouldn’t it be nice to commemorate their achievement by making this your Halloween look? In particular, Hongbin’s hairstyle during the Voodoo Doll era looks great on all genders, and garnered lots of attention during that era. For the outfits, there are two distinct looks: the first is VIXX’s signature suit jacket, done up with exaggerated stitching and patches. The other look for this concept includes a fraying loose-knit pullover sweater. Pair either top with your favorite skinny jeans, and you’re good to go! You can also use white yarns to make it look like you’re being controlled. For make up, simply smudging extra black eyeliner along your lower lashline finishes up the look nicely. For a shinier and even smudgier eye, opting for black kajal is a great way to go.
where to buy suit jacket: second hand store; for the stitching and patches, pick up some embroidery floss at a fabric or craft store. knitted pullover sweater: a worn-out sweater from a second hand store would work perfectly! kajal: kajal, also known as kohl, is a kind of eye cosmetic widely used throughout South Asia, the Middle East, parts of Africa, and India. it is possibly available at many beauty supply stores; it can also be bought online.
cyborgS
Having a cyborg concept made VIXX stand out in the k-pop in the industry. If you think imitating them is complicated—worry no more! A lot of Starlights have already put their own spin on this standout cyborg look. While the body of VIXX’s cyborgs can be quite difficult to replicate, with enough patience and hard work (and maybe some papier-mâché and silver paint), it may be possible to create a VIXX cyborg breastplate. Or, if you’d like to do something more simple, another great look from VIXX’s Error era would be Hongbin or Youngji’s halfdeconstructed humanoid look. This can be achieved by using silver and black body or face paint to detail patches of exposed machinery on your face, arms or neck. For the outfit part of this look, mixing and matching black and white tops and bottoms would look great, especially paired with a leather vest or jacket— or you could try Youngji’s adorable white dress look. And if you’re looking for more drama, you can purchase cyborg contact lenses, too! Make up for this look would include your regular foundation, paired with your choice of simple eye make up, or the dramatic and iconic “cyborg lines” that VIXX wore for the music video.
where to buy face/body paint: Halloween stores always carry all kinds of face and body paints at this time of year! cyborg contact lenses: online shops
•
by stephanie
DArK IDOLS
THE
From dark and tragic concepts like vampires, Jekyll and Hyde, voodoo dolls and even cyborgs...
What’s next for VIXX?
A
s I remember, “dark” and “scary” were the words that were used to describe VIXX in the past. And as humorous and absurd as that sounded to me at that moment, it really wasn’t funny... Going back to January 2013, when their third single, “Ready To Get Hurt” was revealed, it was a different and new approach that VIXX took on. The new release sparked a lot of interest in the K-Pop community, as it strongly contrasted their previous releases “Superhero” and “Rock Ur Body”, as they were more colorful and happy in nature and was more of the traditional K-pop “style”. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t so easily accepted as it shocked many people to the point that their company decided to change their album cover the very last minute. It was baffling that “fans” were extremely terrified of the members’ new look. I guess they were not too keen on the idea of them wearing bold contact lenses and having “outrageous” hair colors. I, myself, actually thought it was more mysterious and sexy, and also somehow beautiful. But I think it was the confidence that they brought to the stage that made everything so enticing. I don’t think any other group could’ve pulled it off as well as VIXX did.
As a little time passed, it seemed as thought the media and netizens finally started taking notice of VIXX’s charm and performances on music shows as well. In a short amount of time, they were known as “conceptual idols” or “concept-dols” and “fantasy-dols.” This is when it all began…
After the promotions for “Ready To Get Hurt” had come to a close, they immediately started preparing for their next album, “hyde”. If you were one of those who thought the dark concepts would stop after all the negativity that was thrown at them… Nope. They were just getting warmed up and they certainly did not hold back. Thinking back, comeback announcements were always the most exciting time for Starlights. It was fun and it made me curious the more I read about the speculations and theories Starlights had developed for the next comeback concepts, and I’d have to say, Starlights were extremely detailed and imaginative and were even correct at times. But I was the type to just sit back and wait patiently for what was to come. Soon after “hyde” ended, VIXX released their repack-
11 aged album “Jekyll” with the single “G.R.8.U”, which was a surprisingly bright and refreshing song. They proved that they are a well-rounded group that can easily pull off dark concepts, light concepts and everything in between, because “G.R.8.U” actually became their biggest hit single at the time. VIXX continued to garner more and more attention with each comeback and ranked higher and higher on music charts. VIXX went on to show that they were a group of many artistic colors. Fast-forwarding to November of 2013, VIXX released their first full album, “Voodoo Doll”— their darkest and most “frightening” music video to date. In it, the members were held captive and tortured, even having their skin being cut open and pierced. It may have been a little disturbing to some, but it was brilliantly executed. While “Voodoo Doll” may be VIXX’s last real dark concept, it did award them their first music show win on “Music Bank” on December 6th, bringing VIXX and Starlights rivers of tears and celebratory hopping. Then came cyborgs. The concept of cyborgs was brought up a few times by Starlights in the past. But personally, I didn’t know how VIXX might go about portraying actual cyborgs. But wow, did they blow me away— with their ‘Error’ music video in October 2014, I was completely mesmerized. It was unlike any other song and music video they’ve ever done.
“
It touched me emotionally as it was such a tragic love story beautifully told. With the comeback date drawing closer and closer, can we expect another dark, fantasy-like concept? Something more similar to Error? Leo did mention before that if he were to choose between doing a dark or bright concept, he would lean towards the dark ones. N stated back in 2013 that he personally wanted to be policemen for one of their concepts, saying that the uniform they wore is handsome. Ravi even said once that they suggested the idea of portraying Greek Gods before, but neither have yet to happen. —
“I would like to see VIXX do something that would allow them to let loose and not be so restricted on stage. Maybe even a circus theme/concept. That’s something that they’ve never done before so, it would be really fun to see that.” - @xBehbz —
We really don’t have to wait that long to find out what VIXX’s next concept will be... It has been officially stated that VIXX is slated to come back with a full album on November 10th! •
AS WE WANT TO SHOW ONLY VIXX’S OWN COLORED CONCEPTION, FOR NOW WE DO NOT KEEP ONLY ONE GENRE BUT ALSO VARIOUS GENRES AS TRIALS. - VIXX
”
Member Spotlight by t hi a
C
ha Hakyeon is Starlights’ pride and joy—and he’s been as busy as ever! Ever since N’s debut in MBC’s Hotel King as Noah, N has been gaining popularity and working hard as an actor, radio DJ and music show emcee. VIXX N Kpop has been a huge hit amongst Starlights and others, and he is doing very well with emceeing. He’s also done a few variety shows, including The Law of the Jungle in Nicaragua. For his acting, he has also appeared in the SBS drama The Family is Coming, and is now starring in the KBS drama Sassy, Go Go. Just the other night, I decided to finally sit down and watch the first two episodes of Sassy, Go Go, and I am majorly impressed with the improvement in N’s acting skills. There has been a palatable increase in skill when comparing N’s acting in Sassy, Go Go to his acting in his other dramas. I’m very glad that N pursued a role like his role as Ha Dongjae in Sassy, Go Go. As a character, Ha Dongjae is distant, aloof, quiet, and a little bit socially impaired, which, as Starlights know, is not the case for Cha Hakyeon as a person. It’s been a very interesting experience to watch N take on such a different persona, and I’m very excited to see where acting will take N in the future. As far as I can see, showing his diversity in acting like this will definitely open doors for N and unearth many opportunities for acting. He still has much room for improvement, even at the rate he is improving at right now, which means that it can only get better from here on out. Many idol actors struggle with finding the right niche within the acting world, but I think that N has the potential and dedication to carve himself a niche in acting, and to flourish within it. I am definitely looking forward to the things our leader N does in the future! N is very bright, in all aspects of the word— in smarts, in personality, his future, and even his smile. It’s been a joy to see N working so diligently in acting. •
N JOY!
N at Sukira; Photo courtesy of Caitlin @ Overseas Dreams. Thank you for your contribution! overseasdreamskpop.tumblr.com
13
Guest fanartist:
Khao
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Hi! I’m Khao, and I’ve been certified full fat Hyuk trash since debut/Mydol era. I’m currently studying in Korea at Yonsei’s language school, but I’m originally from Wales. I’ve been drawing since before my memories started happening, and recently got into the awful habit of drawing on one Photoshop layer. These days, university is dilligently sapping my life energy and creativity but I hope to still be drawing lame pictures of VIXX many years in the future. Have a spoopy Halloween!
Twitter: @hyuktv Do not edit or repost.
Halloween MV
15
Playlist! Every great Halloween party needs a great playlist, and k-pop has so many amazing concepts that fall into the category of “spooky” and “Halloween-ish”. And of course, VIXX has many concepts to fit Halloween! Check out this amazing playlist of some of the most stand-out Halloween-y k-pop music videos: 1. SHINee - Married To The Music
24. Brown Eyed Girls - Abracadabra
2. BtoB - Thriller 3. VIXX - VOODOO DOLL 4. VIXX - hyde 5. VIXX - On and On
25. Narsha - Bbi ri bba bba 26. Sunny Hill - Pray
6. Infinite - Bad 7. f(x) - Red Light
8. Big Bang - Monster 9. T.O.P. - Doom Dada 10. G-Dragon - Coup d’Etat
11. Block B - Jackpot 12. miss A - Touch 13. Wonder Girls - Two Different Tears 14. Ladies’ Code - Hate You 15. Ladies’ Code - So Wonderful 16. U-Kiss - Neverland 17. Kan Mi Youn - Paparazzi
27. Dal Shabet - Hit U 28. Beast - Shadow 29. MBLAQ - Mona Lisa
30. 2PM - Heartbeat 31. T-Ara - Lovey Dovey 32. BigFlo - Obliviate 33. Infinite - Before The Dawn 34. 4Minute - Volume Up 35. Cross Gene - Play With Me
36. Boyfriend - Witch 37. BTL - Too-G
38. 100% - Beat 39. Rania - Dr. Feel Good 40. AOA - Like A Cat
18. SPICA - Russian Roulette
41. Primary - Don’t Be Shy
19. Speed - Don’t Tease Me!
42. Ladies’ Code - Kiss Kiss
20. 2NE1 - It Hurts 21. TVXQ - Mirotic
22. Sunmi - Full Moon 23. Sunny Hill - Midnight Circus
43. Lee Jung Hyun - V
44. History - Psycho 45. Heo Young Saeng - The Art of Seduction
Made by Emma (@skullmin on Twitter); Thank you for letting us feature your playlist! youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBRTXjFoiP7OVHRu3scIBz7kp7-4Zg76R
TwiSTED TaLe Wonsik’s family has just moved to a big house outside a town full of secrets— secrets that involve a big old rusty gate near Wonsik’s house. What’s behind those gates? What happens when Wonsik is trapped inside them?
horror; comedy
by oppajusshis
Chapter 1 When his parents told him they were moving, Wonsik was both sad, delighted and hopeful. Their family financial situation was precarious and he hoped the change would be for the best. He didn’t have many friends but he was sad to go away and not be able to see them again, but the idea of moving brang hopes of new adventures. They were moving in the middle of the school year and that also bothered Wonsik, how would he do in school ? Will he be able to make friends ? Can he catch up with school work ? Won’t he fail ? He had many questions but he really hoped this time would bring a better future for their small family. They packed essential clothes and belongings in suitcases, they had brought their train tickets, where the train would get them as close as possible to their new home, in the country side and their furniture would eventually follow them in another train. The train journey would take a few days, making them travel a good distance within the country, another thing Wonsik didn’t look forward to, being trapped in a small space with starngers for days, possibly with bad food, and not so clean washrooms. He packed a few books and his note book with him to busy himself as much as possible during the long ride. He wasn’t exactly a social butterfly to speak off, and he likes to sleep a lot, too much according to his father. His father, that was his fault. Their current situation was his fault, and he couldn’t help but resent him for that. He was the one to make their financial situation bad. His drinking habit became too much five years ago and since then Wonsik is being as civil as he can with him but there was no way in hell he would be nice to him. Moving felt like a punishement and he would
him go away with it that easily. The morning of the departure Wonsik feels extra bitter, having said goodbye to his friends the day before, promising to write them once he is settled. He watches his dad struggle with his luggage and trying to take his mom’s luggage as well. Exasperated, Wonsik yanks his mom’s luggaged out of his father’s tired hands and strides to the door, delicately putting the suitcases to the floor, looking pointedly at his father. He gets a tired smile in return and he ignores it, carefully putting on a blank face. He goes to find his mom, finding her struggling with more luggage. He sighs. “Mom, do you need to bring all of this with you right now ?” She smiles brightly. “Of course son ! I can’t let myself to be bored during the journey.” “Mom, you have to choose, or at least take out a few things, the rest will arrive soon.” “Is there space in your luggage son ?” “No mom I don’t have more space in my luggage. You have to make choices.” “Alright, alright. Is your father around ? He could help me.” Wonsik tenses up and tries to mask it by getting up. “I’ll fetch him.” He walks away silently looking for his father in their small house. He finds him in the kitchen, packing some food. “Mom needs your help with her luggage.” Wonsik walks out without waiting for answer or any words of acknowledgment, going back to his room, pretending to be busy. He comes out of his room when his mom calls him, telling him it’s time to go. He comes out of his room, luggage in hand and backpack on his shoulders. He gives a small smile to his mother and promptly takes her luggage with his free hand to carry it. They each have their train ticket. They come out one by one and his
17 father puts the key in the keyhole and they give their home one last look. The little family makes their way to the train station in the silence, tension palpable between wonsik and his father. They wait in silence at the platform both men looking opposite ways. They go to their seat in the same silence, letting the other travellers filling the atmosphere with conversation and laughter. Wonsik decides to sleep, that way he can’t be bothered by any conversation. He soon falls asleep, effectively shuting himself out. The journey is a defilement of boring similar days, same persons, same food, same conversations, the only distraction is sleep. He is woken up by someone shaking his shoulder. He opens his sleepy eyes to find his mother shaking him awake. “Son, we are about to disembark.” He grunts and rub his sleepy eyes, stretching as far as possible in the space space available. He looks by the window and see the train en entering a town, houses and shops going by too fast to be completely distinguishable. After over one more hour, the train stops at the station and wonsik jumps to his feets to hurry outside, eager to stretch his legs and breath some fresh air. he steps out and fetches their luggage, and realise they are the only ones on the platform. He looks around worried but everything is still. It was too good to be true. They moved to a half dead city. His shoulders slump and he follow as his father leads the way to the city. The find a car and after much argumentation and gestures they finally get into the car and move further away from the city. He eyes his father suspiciously. “I thought we moved to the city.” “We are going to live in a nice big house outside the city son. Your father has found a very good job.” “Hope he can keep it.” Wonsik mutters to himself, being the only one hearing his last phrase. The ride is physically uncomfortable, his knees are almost up to his chin because they had to keep their luggage with them. When the car finally stops Wonsik is in pain from their unnatural position. He stumbles out of the car and stops dead in his tracks. The house is up a hill close to a cliff. With the setting sun the scene looks straight out of a horror story. The house itself isn’t bad. It is quite bigger than they ever had and looks slightly passed. The driver dumps their luggage on the earthy pathway and speeds away to the city. Snapping out of his daze, wonsik grabs his luggage and starts walking up the uphill path. The young man looks behind him and sees his parents following behind. The
walk is silent, full of aprehention. He arrives first to the door and turns the knob only to find it locked. The notices a single flower pot to his left and look under to find a set of keys. “How cliché.” He unlocks the door and is greeted by a small rising dust cloud as he steps inside. He immediately starts coughing and is soon joined by his parents. A few hour later wonsik is in a room relatively free of dust lying on a bed. He thinks bitterly about the good job and nice big house. It all feels like a trap. After a few days of cleaning up the house is clean and no one has coughing fits anymore. The beginning of a new week is approaching and with it the continuation of the school term at a new establishment. He has to walk to school as there is no transportation, the house being lonely perched on the hill. It is not winter yet so Wonsik has time to familiarize himself with the path before he is forced to walk in the darkness. The walk is roughly half an hour which gives him plenty of time to be lost in his thoughts, not that he is distracted, he prefers to say he has a lot on his mind. He always walks by large and tall rusty gates but unfortunately, the rust has eaten away any inscription, giving him no clue on what lies behind them. At school he is an outsider as expected, except for a few classmates who make noncommittal small talk. He notices a moment of unconfortable silence when he mentions where he lives but he brushes it off. A few days later he gets tugged away during lunch. It doesn’t look like he is going to be bullied but it worries Wonsik nonethe-less. “What is it ?” “There are a few things I want to ask and tell you about our stories and legends.” Wonsik remains silent, leaning against a badly patched up wall. “You walk by big old rusty gates, right?” “Yes but why does it matter ?” “I’ll tell you about those in a few. First your house.” “What about it?” Nervousness is sinking into him and he can feel his palms sweating. “Some say it cursed, others that it simply brings bad luck. Some say it is linked to the cliff, others say rituals took place there. Then there’s the cliff.” Wonsik gulps, nervousness churning his stomach.
18 “A few years ago kids disappeared near the cliff. Some of their friends that went looking for them disappeared as well and others didn’t know what happened. Eventually they were declared dead. Sometimes family members go to the cliff to honor their memory and a few never came back from paying their respects. Now there is a grave in the cemetery for them so that no one goes missing again in regards of them. Then there are those gates.” Wonsik shifts on his feet, discreetly wiping his hands on his pants. “They are the gates of a circus. It’s been abandoned as long as I’ve been born but when my parents were kids they went to it. It was going not very well it still ran until one day. One night all performing artists were killed before the show. No one knows what happened and who did it. Ever since the circus has been abandoned. Rumors say a serial killer did this and that the dead performers are still practicing their last show.” By this point Wonsik is certain he is screwed. He should have refused to go and stayed back. “I am telling you because no one else will. This town likes its secrets and isn’t keen on telling them to strangers. I don’t know much more so I can’t help you any further and I recommend you don’t go around asking if you don’t want trouble.” A few hours later classes resumes and Wonsik does his best to act normal. He acts stiffly for the next few days, itching to know more and wary of the eyes of his classmates. He soon starts to avoid them. He unfortunately gets cornered by that same “friend” after classes. “The days are getting shorter and you should know one last thing. Do not be near the gates when it is dark. It is dangerous. You have to be careful.” Wonsik nods, eyeing the window nervously. Fall is quite advanced and nightfall falls quickly in the small town. He knows that soon he will be walking in the dark, close to those omnious gates.
Chapter 2 Days and weeks pass and despite walking close to those gates nothing bad happens. At home, his mother looks happy to be busy with taking care of a bigger home. His dad gains more money than Wonsik can remember but it doesn’t curb his bad habits so Wonsik tries to avoid him as much as possible. The excuse of going to the library is perfect as he wants to find more information about the cliff disappearances and the circus. He doesn’t learn much but at least he is away. He keeps those town secrets to himself, his mother would become worried and his father would simply laughs. Winter is almost over and the little snow that still lingers on the ground melts gently. Wonsik quickly learns that the end of the winter is capricious and stormy. On his way back from school a violent storm erupts over his head, drenching him almost instantly. He looks around for shelter but all he sees are the rusty circus gates. The sky is dark but it is not nightfall; between catching death and risking rumors Wonsik chooses risking the rumors. He walks to the gates lifting his head, the looming portal feeling oppressive. He leans against the cold metal, shivering. He lets out a yelp feeling it move under his weight, heart almost jumping out of his chest. The young man slowly turns around, not sure to be a victim of his imagination or not. The gates had indeed moved silently under his weight, a crack between the metal and a dark world waiting behind. He peers inside, blinking to chase the rain falling in his eyes. It looks like it could shelter him and against all common sense he squeezes himself between the two thick metal doors. The drumming of the rain against the metal is almost deafening but this part of the gates is covered and he slumps against the decrepit concrete pillar on the side. His mind starts wandering and the sound of the rain falling and the makeshift roof over his head lulls him to sleep. He jolts awake, usure of what caused him to wake up. He widens his eyes, trying to see but the darkness had fallen while he was asleep. He gets on his feets and covers the small distance to the gates only to find them not moving. They don’t seem as rusty as when he sought shelter. He shakes them producing a loud rattling sound, panic rapidly swelling. He punches the doors knowing it is useless and that no one would come until morning if anyone comes at all. He wants to cry. Never he would have thought his ability to fall asleep everywhere would have cause him trouble. He
19 sighs, trying to assess his options but the panick is too strong and a small voice tells him he really screwed up this time. He pounds on the door one last time. “Hey !” He jumps, hitting a knee against the gate and turns around swiftly bending half way and holding his knee. “Stop shaking those, they won’t open. You’re stuck.” The guy looks around Wonsik’s age but something is off about him. “You are completely soaked, follow me.” He starts walking away and Wonsik follows him from afar. The figure turns around. “I’m not going to eat you.” Wonsik walks closer and realise the neck of the guy is off. It has a weird angle and he can’t help but stare. “The others are probably wondering what was that ruckus. It’s just an idiot who got trapped here with us.” Wonsik hangs his head in shame it should have never happened. “It’s not my fault.” “Sorry, did you say something ?” “Nothing.” They walk in silence, unconfortably for Wonsik. The land is deserted and dry, not even the downpour could quench the earth. It is almost misty but it could simply be the dust. Vague silhouettes appear behind the dusty screen. It looks like buidlings. Beaten up buildings. “It’s not far.” The young man makes a strange motion with his head and Wonsik can’t help but wonder if he isn’t dreaming. A silhouette appears from behind a small wall. “Where were you?” “At the gates.” “You know it’s useless. “ “I have a broken neck, not a dead brain.” “I wish you would have poked yourself in the eye far enough to kill yourself. You could have become nicer thay way.” “And I should have cut your tongue, I wouldn’t have to hear you say stupid things.” “Aww little serial killer didn’t think before dismembering me, how sad. A little wouldn’t have hurt too much in my case. But admit it you would be missing on something if you did.” “Not missing anything good honestly.” “You’re a dick.”
“And you’re annoying, Jaehwan.” Up to that point Wonsik was standing behind, hoping to be forgotten by the two bickering men. “Why is he there?” “He is stuck.” A souless laugh escapes the man making the newcomer jump. “Welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay with us.” The tone is overly loud and high pitched, carrying far in the empty space. “Shut the fuck up Jaehwan! Give us a moment of peace from time to time for God’s sake.” “Hmm is it too early for our pretty Hongbin?” “Fuck off.” Another man comes around, flipping off said Jaehwan for a copious amount of time. The man stops, seeing an unfamiliar person. “What-” “He is stuck. Here. With us.” “Can you please not act like I can’t talk.” The man says. ”Sorry honey, it’s just that you barely uttered a word since you’ve been here. I assumed you were kind of mute.” “If you wish to truly be mute, Hyuk can arrange that for you by the way.” Jaehwan jumps away avoid an oncoming hit from Hyuk. “Don’t scare the kid, Jaehwan.” “Should we put on a show or go ahead and reveal it ?” “Reveal what?” Wonshik asks. “Nothing kid, nothing.” Hongbin drags Jaehwan away, sending a meaningful stare at Hyuk who simply nods back. “Come with me. You only met half of us. And Hakyeon would throw a fit if he is the last one to be introduced.” •
Read more of Twisted Tale here: asianfanfics.com/story/view/940709
DOUBLE X gives a big thank-you to oppajusshis for allowing us to feature this great story!
Serial Fic by m el
Through A
Dirty Window Chapter 1: Hijinks
Hakyeon looked over his shoulder, trying to check where everyone was. Wonshik was standing at the magazines and flipping through some adult spread, Hongbin and Taekwoon were near the drinks, looking like they might be fussing over having to share one, and he just barely caught Jaehwan’s head popping above the store shelves and diving back under. He smiled a little to himself and turned back to the cashier, chatting him up and keeping his attention. Jaehwan popped up around one of the shelves, catching sight of Wonshik looking through his X-rated magazine. He grinned. The rustle of the plastic bag in his hand caught Wonshik’s attention and he motioned to put the magazine in it too. Wonshik scowls. “I was just looking through it...” he defends, but Jaehwan takes it with a wink, rolls it up, and slips it in with the few other things. “If you don’t want anything else, go wait outside.” Jaehwan grins, holding the bag closer to himself. Wonshik scowls more but turns away for the door. Jaehwan begins scanning the rest of the shelves, wondering how many candy bars the bag could fit before it ripped. Taekwoon appears with a drink in hand, Hongbin whining and tripping after him. “Hyung, why does it have to be that one though? We always get the one you want!” Taekwoon sighs and drops the bottle in the
bag as he passes Jaehwan, not stopping, and then leaves the store too. Hongbin settles next to Jaehwan, scowling more than Wonshik before. “What’d we get?” Jaehwan opens the bag and lets him peek in, and when he looks up, they grin at each other and high five. Hongbin skips for the door too, and then Jaehwan clears his throat loudly. Hakyeon smiles at the clerk. “So anyway, my parents are probably wondering where I am now. I better get going.” He turns from the counter and begins walking down the aisle next to the one Jaehwan’s in. Hurried, he looks for one last candy bar. The door chimes and he takes his cue to saunter towards it. Adrenaline seeps into his veins and his grin is wider and wider as he spots Wonshik and Taekwoon resting against the wall opposite of the store. He drops the last sweet into the bag and steps on the doormat— The bag rips. Everything in it clatters to the tile and the clerk shoots up from his post to look over the shelves. “You, what are you doing?!” Oh shit, The blood drains from Jaehwan’s face but he snickers as he gathers everything, throwing a look over his shoulder. Taekwoon is shaking his head, walking down the sidewalk and Wonshik looks two clicks away from panicking and rushing back in to help. He can already hear Hakyeon chewing him out.
21 The cashier runs down the aisle as Jaehwan gathers everything into his arms. He makes a run for it and the stores alarm goes off. “Jaehwan, you idiot!” Hakyeon shouts as he begins running down the sidewalk. “Get back here with that!” the clerk shouts after Jaehwan, one thing after another dropping from his arms. Hakyeon looks at the others scattered. “C’mon, after him!” he calls, and after heaving a sigh, Taekwoon begins running. “I hope he didn’t drop my damn magazine...” Wonshik grumbles to himself as he begins running, Hongbin in tow. “Forget your stupid porn mag, he’s got my drink!” Jaehwan’s running, clutching the snacks and drinks (and Wonshik’s porn) to his chest. The clerk is hot on his heels and he knew he should’ve skipped out on that last candy bar—what could he say, he loved his sweets. He laughed loudly. “A little help, guys!” he shouted, not even knowing if they were following or not. A rock flew passed his head and he glanced over his shoulder to see the cashier closer than he would’ve liked. “C’mon, lemme have a freebie,” he whined. The cashier growls at him and runs faster, and Jaehwan knows he’s probably going to get caught, but life without a little adventure was too boring. He turns down an alleyway, hoping it’ll give him an edge in escaping. He passes hobos sleeping, some stragglers rummaging through dumpsters, druggies huddled up on themselves, and vaguely wonders if any of them might help stop the cashier, but no. He’s still chasing him, shouting profanities and threatening to strangle him once he gets his hands on him, and Jaehwan can’t help but laugh. He rounds another corner, only to skid to a stop. A tall wall, two buildings on either side of him, block his path and he groans to himself because something like this would happen to him. The cashier slides after him, laughing both in triumph and exhaustion. “Finally caught up to you, little rat!” he shouts, stalking over to take back the snacks. “You know what happens to thieves, don’t you?” he growls, snatching up Jaehwan’s hands. Everything drops to the ground and Jaehwan laughs nervously, trying to back up. “H-Hang on a sec, mister—I d-don’t have any mo—” “I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses!” the man shouts back, and Jaehwan flinches, feeling
fear for the first time. Oh man, where are you guys?! He clenches his eyes closed when he sees the cashier reach for what was no doubt a pocket knife. His fears are confirmed when it flicks open— Auntie, I’m sorry for being a bad nephew, I’ll treat my aunt in my next life like the queen she is...! “Hey!” They both stop. Jaehwan winks and eye open and looks around the man. “Sanghyuk!” he exclaims. A boy with brown hair is holding a sack over his head, breathing hard because this time, he was the one that had to bail Jaehwan out (since Wonshik did last time.) “Mind your own business, brat!” the shopkeeper shouts at Hyuk, and Hyuk laughs between breaths. He begins running for the both of them, and Jaehwan jerks when the man drags him around, tripping over his own shoes and practically toppling into one of the stained walls. When Hyuk is close enough, he launches the sack (of dirt and rocks, Taekwoon’s suggestion this time) at the man’s head. He misses, of course, and the man snorts as he tries taking a stab at him, but Hyuk falls over and barely misses the blade. “Jaehwan, don’t be a lump, help me out!” Hyuk whines, rolling over and trying to avoid the blade. Jaehwan leaps for the sack, grunting from how heavy it was. “What’s in this thing,” he complains. “C’mon man, now’s not the time!” And Hyuk sounds nervous because hello, he’s being stabbed at. “Right!” Jaehwan snickers, smug because now he gets one over the man who’s attacking them. He swings the bag around once for momentum and then knocks it into the side of the man’s head, sending him spiraling to the ground. Hyuk finally gets back to his feet and launches one kick at his stomach just to knock the breath out of him, and then drops the sack on his head for good measure. They press up against each other, Jaehwan leaning all his weight on Hyuk despite being heavier, and wait for something else to happen. The man is knocked out cold. “Yes!” Jaehwan chants, slinging an arm around Hyuk’s shoulder. “And Jaehwan saves the day!” Hyuk pushes him off and snorts. “Don’t you mean Han Sanghyuk saves the day?” he glares.
22 Jaehwan just waves his arm and hops over to the fallen snacks and drinks. “Minor details!” One of the bags is ripped open and Wonshik’s porn mag is suddenly missing a few pages, but all casualties of war would be honored. “The spoils of war!” he chants, spinning around with his arms full again. Hyuk laughs and pats him on the back. “You totally woulda been toast if I didn’t save your butt.” he says, picking out a bag from the bunch. “I demand you get on your knees and kiss my feet.” The two of them step over the passed out body of the shopkeeper. “Yeah, right,” Jaehwan laughs as they round the corner out of the dead end. “No one ever wants anything to do with your stinky feet.” At the other end of the alleyway, Hakyeon, Taekwoon, Wonshik, and Hongbin are waiting. Hongbin’s passed out in Taekwoon’s lap and Hakyeon’s whining on his other shoulder about where Jaehwan and Hyuk could be. When they come into sight, he jumps up. “My babies!” he cries dramatically, running for them. He tries to throw his arms around both of them, but Hyuk dodges it and goes to see what Wonshik is drawing on the wall next to Taekwoon. Jaehwan whines when he’s the only victim. “Hyung, the snacks, you’re gonna crush them...” “Forget the stupid snacks for a second, I was worried!” he sighs, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead and dragging him to the others. “Yeah right,” Wonshik snorts. “You were so worried hyung, you couldn’t stop complaining about when they were coming with your milk.” “You were so worried you came right after us!” Hyuk agrees with a roll of his eyes. Hakyeon slices all three of their necks with his hand and they groan out. He crosses his arms. “Why are all my sons such pains in the ass?” he wonders, pouting at Taekwoon who’s still running his fingers through Hongbin’s hair. “Wake him up, it’s time to celebrate.” “The spoils of war!” Jaehwan laughs again, holding out everything in his arms. “Man, I told you I didn’t want this stupid magazine!” Wonshik complains, pulling it from Jaehwan’s arms. “Why is it ripped!” “If you didn’t want it, why are you complaining,” Taekwoon deadpans, nudging Hongbin awake. They take what’s theirs from Jaehwan’s arms and begin walking down the sidewalk. Jaehwan’s bragging about saving Hyuk and Hyuk threatens to strangle him. Hakyeon insists his milk is too warm to drink now and Hongbin’s still trying to wake up.
Wonshik scowls at the magazine and promises he’s going to throw it away as soon as he can, but the streets were practically a trashcan anyway, and Taekwoon wasn’t seeing it leave his hands. Hakyeon leads them into a cracking car park building down the road, walls painted over and over again, only to be drawn on repeatedly like the city didn’t want to let any of it go. They walk up numerous steps and Taekwoon pulls at Jaehwan’s ear when his complaining about his “old enemy” becomes too much. “Of all the stupid places in this stupid city, why did this have to be our headquarters?” Jaehwan pants, plopping down next to Wonshik and all but draping himself on him. Hongbin laughs, finally awake. “Feel free to fly up here next time, Super-Hwan.” Jaehwan pouts. “Maybe I will.” They all settle up in their concrete hub on the roof of the car park, covered with tattered sheets and tarp, held up by thin rods of metal, cinder blocks pulling everything together. There are broken pieces of furniture scattered around, broken lamps and bed posts, raggedy rugs covering some of the concrete. Hyuk steals from all of them and Taekwoon hides his bag as Hakyeon settles down next to him. “What time is it...” he asks, watching the others play around. “Almost eight,” Taekwoon answers, catching a yawn from Wonshik. Hakyeon sighs, drinking his milk. “Curfew’s in a little while... I don’t want to go home.” Taekwoon takes a sidelong glance at him and then averts his attention to the sunset over the buildings ahead. He listens to Wonshik and Jaehwan talk about what they wanted to spray paint in a few days, Hyuk teases Hongbin about the newest person to have a crush on him, and Hakyeon’s eternal sighing. “Will you stop that,” he scowls. Hakyeon slurps loudly at his milk instead, and Hongbin complains. “You sound gross hyung, stop!” But he just slurps even louder until Taekwoon threatens to elbow him in the side. “I hope your milk is spoiled,” Hongbin reiterates. “I can’t hear you over the sound of my delicious, unspoiled milk, bye.” “How come you don’t want to go home?” Taekwoon asks, quiet enough for only Hakyeon to hear. Hakyeon almost pretends he doesn’t, sipping deliberately at his drink and looking at the sun until he’s too dazzled.
22 “Aren’t they nice?” Taekwoon pushes, so unlike him. “They’re being nice to you, aren’t they?” Hakyeon nudges him in the shoulder, grinning. “Oh Taekwoonie, I didn’t know you cared.” he singsongs, but when he looked over, he knew he was serious and sighed. “They’re... Of course they are. I mean, they’re supposed to be right? They’re nice... Good people.” He’s going to say more, almost wants to say more, but Taekwoon’s never been one for details. Taekwoon pushes on instead. “Come spend the night.” he says, all before Jaehwan appears, strewing himself across their laps. “Whaaat?” he exclaims. “You invite Hakyeonhyung, but never me? Your favorite dongsaeng?!” He sounds betrayed and Taekwoon rolls his eyes. “Hakyeon doesn’t steal all my food.” Taekwoon deadpans, and then Wonshik appears. He’s laughing. “Hyung, don’t lie! Whenever he spends the night with me, he steals everything and I always get in trouble!” “How am I the bad guy!” Hakyeon complains, shuffling his knees under Jaehwan’s head, who makes obnoxious long notes with the vibrations. “Wait, what about your dad though?” he stops, looking at Taekwoon. Taekwoon shifts, trying to get Jaehwan off him, but then he shrugs. “He doesn’t care.” Hakyeon narrows his eyes for a moment, but then shrugs too. “Sleepover at Taekwoon-hyung’s!” Hyuk declares, leaping onto their legs too. Taekwoon grunts, falling back and Wonshik makes sure his head doesn’t crash into the concrete.
A flash catches their attention, and Hongbin’s looking at the camera in his hands with a large smile. “You can’t use that as blackmail,” Wonshik says loudly while adjusting Taekwoon’s head in his lap, and Hongbin looks up, shit-eating grin and all. “I have my ways, my dear Wonshik.” he says deviously, turning to put the camera away into one of the drawers of the broken dresser. They all settle back together again and the sun sinks farther under the horizon. Jaehwan and Hyuk are clocked out on Hakyeon and Taekwoon’s legs, and Taekwoon’s pretty sure circulation in his left one is all gone (Hongbin offers to amputate). Wonshik’s murmuring something to himself, gazing at the sky, probably some new “deep and meaningful” rhyme about cheese and mice, Or whatever he raps about, Hyuk jokes from time to time. “Curfew’s soon,” Hakyeon reminds, and Taekwoon hums lazily. “We should get going if we’re going to make it to your house before then.” Wonshik and Hongbin suddenly grin at each other. “Sleepover at Taekwoon’s house?” Hongbin asks. “Sleepover at Taekwoon’s house,” Wonshik grins, high-fiving him, and they laugh. Taekwoon almost groans. He knees Jaehwan in the crotch and jolts him awake. “Hyung, my balls!” he cries awake, finally rolling off and onto Hyuk in the process. “Oh, your balls are fine,” Hakyeon waves his arm. “Wake up sleepy heads, we’re having a sleepover at Taekwoon’s!” •
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Beautiful MV, Beautiful Liar by ray
I
n my modest opinion, one of the reasons VIXX LR’s subunit was probably that popular when Beautiful Liar was released was because the Beautiful Liar music video. We had seen the teasers by then, possibly hundreds of times, but even like that, I don’t know if any of us expected a video like this one. At the same time, however, it’s possibly the best fit for the theme and lyrics of the song and the different kinds of sensations they wanted to portray. I possibly watched it four or five times in a row when it was released, because simply there was a lot to see, and it was impossible to let it sink in by just watching it once. There are several aspects to this music video that are important to note and stood out: the strong, beautiful symbolism, the contemporary-esque choreography, the tension between Leo, Ravi and the girl, and of course Leo’s and Ravi’s outstanding acting skills. Honestly speaking, I never imagined that neither of them were going to be such good actors. Sure Leo had his experience as a musical actor but due to his shyness and the level of intensity and feelings this whole video revolved around, I didn’t know he was going to be able to project such a complicated character so well and so full of emotion. Not to mention Ravi, with no experience in acting whatsoever, which for me was the biggest surprise of the video.
I’d like to briefly discuss the aesthetics of the music video, as they were very strong and consistent. During the video, there’s a lot of moments with symbolism involving the juxtaposition of opposites in binary compositions. Dark/light, dirty/neat, passionate/calm, irrationality/rationality and so on, which are used to express and emphasize the fact Leo and Ravi are portrayed as opposite characters and personalities. Many of the props and sets of the Beautiful Liar music video reflect the oppositeness that Ravi and Leo portray. The piano Leo is playing in the scenes at the beach is neat, clean and unbroken; it is also illuminated by two small lamps on the top of it. On the other hand, Ravi’s piano is in a much worse condition. It’s painted all over, dirty, broken, and unlit. This is a symbolic tool for showing the opposites in their characters. Additionally, the scenes of Ravi and Leo individually either sitting or lying on a bed also display this symbolism. Leo’s bed is neatly made and the lighting is dull and muted, reflecting a calm yet melancholic mood. Ravi’s bed is messy and torn apart, and even if it’s illuminated with different kinds of fluorescent lights, in my opinion, the lights are supposed to express the chaos and the instability of Ravi’s character, as opposed to the clear illumination like the lights at Leo’s piano. Now, my favourite scene in the entire music video is
25 the scene of Leo and the girl sitting and facing each other at a table as Ravi comes into the scene. The dramatic lighting of it and the graveness of Leo’s expression sums up pretty well how ready he seems to let go of her in order to protect this girl from himself. However, Ravi comes into the scene with a certain kind wildness, knocking away the keys the girl returns to Leo and chasing after her as she stands to leave. Ravi’s character represents Leo’s inner desire to not let her go.
There’s a scene following the hug which shows Leo sitting at the piano and Ravi behind him supposedly dancing or just twirling around himself, and I believe it’s a very representative scene as well. If the idea of the hug either gave us the feeling of reconciliation or peace, emphasized by the presence of the sea, this scene gives us the idea of Ravi just being a free character, a part of Leo’s personality that he probably is not going to be able to tamed or restricted, even if it brings him suffering.
This scene is actually explained by Ravi and Leo themselves when they guested on After School Club—they only confirmed the theories most of the fans already had about what the scene meant. Ravi elaborated that he was supposed to be one of the
There are several things that manage to express on a perfect note the feeling and plot of the video. The lighting is amazing— it is dark and suffocating at times, like the scene of the three of them together or the one of them at the beach. The use of colours and space fit well with all scenes, and the locations are also on-point. The beach is such lovely scenery and a wonderful background for the scene of the two of them coming to terms with each other, as well as fighting each other.
personas living inside of Leo, and he played the one who doesn’t want to let go of the girl like Leo’s character intended to. In his obsession and anger, even against Leo’s will, Ravi tries to run after her. In a related scene, Leo is obviously upset and troubled, curled on top of a chair while Ravi tries to chase the girl on top of a table, just attempting desperately for her not to leave. The whole scene has a choreographed feeling to it, like a contemporary dance between the two of them, trying to escape from each other with Leo as a pitiful spectator. When Ravi explained this scene at After School Club, he pointed out how there was choreography for the entire scene; something I feel was a pity to cut out, because I would have loved to see the entire scene of Ravi and the girl dancing. Following this is another scene by the sea, which holds one of the most symbolic scenes in the entire music video. The same scene has the clips of Leo and Ravi dancing, again with some contemporary and modern dance. Leo keeps struggling against Ravi who keeps resisting his grip, until then in a beautiful illuminated scene with the sea as a background they end up hugging each other representing either the truly merging or their characters or the fact that Ravi submitted to Leo’s will.
Just as a whole concept, the Beautiful Liar music video is a wonderful piece of visual art that is made in such a detailed and beautiful way, managing to suck you into the story, concept and the feeling of the song and the lyrics in a way that can’t be described. The balance between Leo and Ravi, the outfits, the light, the locations, and the general ambiance resulted in a flawless visual representation of Beautiful Liar. •
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