The group WEi is making a comeback with high-quality, listen-and-watch music. They have pledged to fill the void left by member Kim Yohan, who was absent from these promotions due to drama filming, with attractive activities.

On the 15th, WEi held a showcase to commemorate the release of their 7th mini-album [The Feelings].

Jang Daehyun and Yoo Yongha said, “It was a 1 year and 7 month hiatus. We prepared while being worried and excited,” and Kim Junseo said, “While preparing the album, I thought the most about the fans who waited for us during our hiatus.”

Kim Donghan said, “It‘s an album that we worked on a lot, so I have a lot of affection for it,” and added, “We felt impatient and anxious due to the long hiatus. However, each member worked on songs, acted, etc. We tried hard so that the fans wouldn’t forget us through our individual activities.”

Kang Seok-hwa confidently stated, “Although we‘re a five-member group, Kim Yohan also gave us a lot of opinions while preparing for this album. We’ll wrap up our promotions well, even covering Kim Yohan‘s share who can’t join us due to filming a drama.”

According to Jang Dae-hyun, they easily expressed various emotions of love through the new album. Kim Dong-han shared a behind-the-scenes story about the work, saying, “It‘s our 5th debut anniversary. It’s been a long time since we released an album, and each member did what they wanted to do. Jang Dae-hyun wrote two songs, and I also participated in the choreography for two songs. The members also gave us a lot of opinions.”

If you were to describe the album with one keyword, Kim Jun-seo said, “It‘s like an album like ’Record of Youth‘” and “It’s an album that sings about the pain of love, and we will show you WEi who has overcome that pain and grown to a higher level.” Kang Seok-hwa said, “It‘s like an ’emoticon‘. Many people use emoticons to express their emotions. It resonates with the album’s meaning, which expresses love in various ways.”

The title song ‘NOT ENOUGH’ is an emo hip-hop genre with a shoegazing sound. It expresses the confusion of longing and fear for you in the midst of a wait with no end in sight, with a dreamy yet hazy melody. Member Jang Dae-hyun participated in writing the lyrics and composing the song.

Regarding this, Jang Dae-hyun said, “The most important thing when writing WEi songs is whether it‘s the kind of music the members want to make,” and explained the direction of the song, saying, “I wanted to satisfy both the music you listen to and the music you watch.” He continued, “This is an album that we put a lot of effort into. I wanted the members to be proud of me, and I also tried to impress upon the company that ’my brother knows how to make songs.‘”

Kim Jun-seo said, “It was unanimously chosen as the title song as soon as we heard it. It fits well with the members, and I could picture our cool appearance on stage as soon as I heard it. Jang Dae-hyun wrote a good song,” and Yoo Yong-ha expressed his satisfaction, saying, “I’m the type of person who listens carefully to lyrics, and he did a good job of incorporating WEi‘s emotions into the lyrics. I hope the listeners will relate to it.”

Kim Dong Han said, “It’s a song that goes well with the cold winter. I usually pretend to be cool while walking down the street in the cold winter while listening to the group Big Bang‘s songs, so I think ’Not Enough‘ would be really good to listen to while pretending to be cool on the streets in the winter.”

Kang Seok Hwa introduced the point choreography, saying, “It’s a memory dance. It‘s a gesture that seems to convey a memory from one hand to the other,” and added, “There are two challenges prepared. There is an original version and an easy version that is easy to follow,” he said, revealing a pre-filmed challenge video.

Including the title track, this album contains a total of five tracks, including ‘143 ILY’, which expresses WEi’s love language in numbers; ‘FAKE LOVE’, which melts the feelings of feeling like all the time spent together is fake with a band sound; ‘Top Shape’, which confidently seduces the other person with an R&B genre that stands out with its heavy 808 bass; and ‘Fear’, which directly yet touchingly depicts an anxious heart toward love.

About ‘Top Shape’, Kim Dong Han said, “I wanted to make choreography because I liked the song so much. Since it‘s a song that goes well with woody scents and whiskey, I used props like horn-rimmed glasses to create the choreography. Kim Yohan also wanted to do it with me, but it wasn’t very successful.” Kim Jun-seo said, ”Kim Dong-han has created a lot of choreography, but this ‘Top Shape’ choreography is the best. I think fans will really like the dance with the horn-rimmed glasses.“

Lastly, Yoo Yong-ha said, ”Since we put a lot of time into this album, I hope the song will be remembered. I hope the song will be well-received.“ Kim Dong-han said, ”The song itself is good. I hope it will be played a lot on the streets and in marts.“ Kang Seok-hwa said, ”It‘s a good song. It’s the ‘most listened to song of the year’, and I hope it will be a ‘reverse run’ since it can‘t be successful all at once,“ raising expectations for their promotions.

WEi’s 7th mini album [The Feelings] will be released at 6 PM on the 15th.

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com