omonatheydid | GFRIEND for Ize Magazine (Reply)

Yerin
When taking those pictures you could only smell and not eat the chocolate right?
Yerin: It’s my favorite chocolate but because I’m currently on a diet I couldn’t eat it. When was the last time I ate some? It was so long ago that I don’t even remember. I was just happy to be holding it.

You recently graduated? How does it feel?
Yerin: I didn’t cry, I really like wearing my uniform. Now that I can’t wear it anymore I’m really bewildered. Even though we wore a school look for ‘Glass Bead’ but it’s clearly different to my uniform. That day all of the members wore their uniform and did music show rehearsals. I hope that video is never deleted. Ha… No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t feel real. I’ll still wear my uniform occasionally. (laughs)

Come to think of it, it’s great to debut at the start of your 20’s.
Yerin: That’s why my graduation day was strange. Our manager was next to me, and behind me were our fans taking pictures. My life changed a lot in just one month. It feels like it went by really quickly. Lots of days went by that I didn’t realize.

Even so, were there any memorable days?
Yerin: When doing the high kick one day I was so excited that my foot ended up going behind my head. I’m originally quite stiff. At school whenever we’d do a fitness test I’d often get minus in the flexibility portion. But starting from high school I practiced every day so I could be more flexible. I’m the type of person that focuses on one thing until I perfect it…. If you put in effort there is nothing you can’t do.

Do you have the role of older sister in the group?
Yerin: I have one older brother, there’s an 11 year age difference. When I was in elementary school my brother served in the army, when I started middle school he went to the US to study so I grew up like an only child. I’m not used to being the unnie so when I became a trainee, the younger ones told me “Because you have no experience, just do as you feel.” and as we were together I eventually learned what not to do and what was right.

You have a very happy impression and seem like you don’t get angry is that right? (laughs)
Yerin: I don’t get angry often. My skin tone, cheeks and stomach are kind of like ‘rice cake’, the members ask me “Unnie, can I touch your stomach?”. But if the dorm is dirty I tend to get a bit annoyed. For example if there is an apple peel left on the counter. Luckily the kitchen has been clean lately. The members never take their laundry so I still have to say “Everyone please make sure you take all of your clothes today~”. (laughs)

What is most important to you at the moment?
Yerin: A good attitude. When we’re promoting we don’t get much sleep so it’s easy to be tired. I never used to like coffee but now I drink 3 cups. I also eat vitamins and nutrients well. In order to have a healthy mind you have to have a healthy body.

I think you’ll have a good year.
Yerin: Ah… I haven’t seen this year’s horoscope yet. (laughs) Honestly, they never match with me. When I was younger out of curiosity I went and saw a fortuneteller, she said ‘You’ll lean towards being a celebrity but because it’s hard for you, you’ll give up’. But I’ve came this far and haven’t given up.

Yuju
Are you the type to wake up easily on a day like this for an early morning schedule?
Yuju: Eunha, SinB, Umji and I all share a room in the dorm. I’m the one who wakes up the earliest and washes up, then wakes the other members. I used to wake up straight away when my alarm went off but lately I sleep through it so Yerin who is in the next room has to wake me up. I’m working hard to find that will I lost.

Is it not because you’re all busy chatting until late? (laughs)
Yuju: Even though we’re with each other all day every day, they still talk before sleeping. Honestly because I’m the main vocal I have to do a lot of adlibs and if I talk all night my throat gets sore. Because taking care of my throat and voice is the most important for me I don’t talk much. I’m careful.

It seems like you’re thorough with self-care. You also only eat bread 2 days every month.
Yuju: I really really love bread, I once had a rash and had to refrain from eating it for a week. By doing that my condition got better, my skin troubles seemed to go too. Because there’s a lot of other things to eat I’m good at restraining myself.

When did you start wanting to become a singer?
Yuju: Ever since I was little I loved singing and dancing. I started attending a vocal school in the 7th grade, there was a competition at Goyang city. There were a lot of older girls who had been training for a long time. I’d never formally learned so I got a participation prize. After that I started going to vocal school.

How did you end up at your current agency?
Yuju: I went to an audition. I passed and started trainee life, there were tasks I had to master every day. The person who taught me those was Yerin. ‘If anyone doesn’t teach me what do I do? If I have to do it all by myself what will I do?’ I worried a lot like that so I’m thankful to her. I was grateful there was an unnie like her.

You have to be especially good to her now. (laughs)
Yuju: But lately I play a lot of jokes (on her). I touch her cheeks a lot. I don’t do it a lot but you can see embarrassment in her face easily….No matter how I look at it I’m sorry for saying this but whenever she gets angry she’s really cute. I can tell she tries to control herself. Even though it’s really cute, I also think that I should be nicer to Yerin.

You seem like you’d be a model student so it’s surprising.
Yuju: Although I have a serious side too, there are a lot of opportunities to have fun. (laughs) There are times where I want to play around for no reason.

SinB
Do you hear that you look cold a lot?
SinB: Yes. The members all said that was their first impression of me. Sowon unnie said that I don’t give good reactions, but I’m a good sport when they play around. (laughs)

Were you aware that you were pretty during childhood?
SinB: When I was young I’d always hear pretty, pretty so I knew about it. But I always thought dressing up was annoying, I was never good at making myself look pretty. Since elementary school I don’t really think about it. Ah, lately I’ve had confidence in my lips so I apply tint and lip balm and ask the members “Are my lips pretty?”. Occasionally, very occasionally I apply makeup and think ‘I look alright today?’. But I don’t really ever have big thoughts about being pretty.

Did you always want to become a singer?
SinB: I used to do dancing. Street dance, jazz, sports dance I’d do various types but never extensively. When I was younger I had 2 dreams, I liked studying so my father would always tell me to be an international attorney or singer. “Catch both rabbits”. But I liked being a singer more so I just thought ‘ah, yeah’ and went in that direction.

It seems like you had a lot of support from your parents.
SinB: Yes. Even when I was younger I was a children’s clothes model. After becoming a trainee if there was an exciting day learning choreography I’d teach my mother and father from start to finish. My dad followed well. It seemed like he had talent. He’d tell me “This is how you do a wave” and show me. After watching our debut stage he told me “You should show a variety of expressions. Why are they all the same?”.

Did you get stressed when going on a diet?
SinB: Originally when seeing other people eat I’d get stressed. But lately because we’re all dieting I feel like I’ve adapted. Rather than feeling it’s unfair that I can’t eat I’m sorry to Sowon, when we were first adjusting to dieting she would end up eating alone in the hall a lot. She wanted to go out to eat together but because of us we couldn’t. I used to say “Unnie, I’ll lose weight quickly so we can go out and eat together” but I think I still have to lose more.

If you all went out for dinner where do you want to go?
SinB: Only 1? Can’t I just go on an MT near the ocean and have a barbeque party? If I have to just eat, samgyupsal sounds good. I want to eat meat. Without worrying I want to eat beef to my heart’s content.

Then if it wasn’t for dinner but if you could all go somewhere together?
SinB: Busan! I want to smell the ocean and walk along the beach. A long time ago I said I wanted to go to Namsan, the staff at our company took me. But no matter how much I said I wanted to go to Lotte World they wouldn’t. I also want to try bungee jumping. The other members are afraid of heights so we can’t. Sowon and I are active girls but the other members aren’t.

Eunha
Since when did you want to be a singer?
Eunha: I was in the same dance team as SinB when I was 8. I was planned to be in a kids singing group like 7 Princesses and Orange, but I ended up being in a dance team. After seeing trainee life as a child my parents said ‘Stop that and start studying’. Like my older sister and brother. So I just went along with it and only went to school.

How did you convince them?
Eunha: After time had passed, the manager at the company I used to be a trainee at contacted me. I then started learning singing again. My parents saw that I was practicing singing and I liked it so they said ‘Do what you want to’. That’s how I came to my current company.

Are there good points about debuting?
Eunha: It’s strange and exciting that we have people that like us. It’s still weird to hear cheers when we’re on stage. It’s really cute when they say our names during the song.

Who do you have fun with the most?
Eunha: When I look to my side in bed, SinB is there so we’re always talking. “Don’t sleep, don’t sleep. Sleep after we talk”. We always sit together in the back of the car too. Even if the front seat is empty we go to the back. Even though SinB acts like she’s not, she’s the type that talks a lot. We match each other well. (laughs) It doesn’t matter if there’s no conversation. We don’t watch TV either. We both really like Crush senior’s music lately so we listen to his CD together, and sing before we sleep.

I heard there was a ‘lemon juice incident’.
Eunha: Yes. I was using the lemon juice and it went into my eye! It was a serious incident. Like my eyes were on fire. Because SinB and I were being loud Sowon came to the Kitchen and said “Everyone is sleeping, Eunha.” (laughs)

How long has it been since you’ve eaten ramyeon?
Eunha: Ah… I don’t even remember.

Do you miss your phone, or ramyeon?
Eunha: I… (thinking for a long time) My phone. Ah, that was hard. Seeing someone eat, or smelling it, I really like that. When Sowon eats I take my soy milk and just sit next to her. Of course there are times when I hate it too.

There are a lot of things you have to endure. (laughs) You’ve suffered this much to debut is there anything you want to do in the future?
Eunha: When I was younger I did acting. So I want to try acting again, if there’s an opportunity in the future I want to do a featuring too. If I had to chose with who… it’d be Crush. I also want to go on a variety show that has a family like atmosphere with the members, like KBS Happy Together. It’d be even better if we get a rookie award. Especially as you only ever have one chance at it.

Sowon
You all arrived wearing long padding.
Sowon: Before we debuted we had one photoshoot. On that day I told the staff “We’re cold. Can’t we get long padding?”, and our CEO gave them to us as a present. It’s warm and comfortable but I’m kind of regretting it right now. When we go to music broadcasts there are a lot of people wearing the exact same thing. (laughs)

Rather than the same clothes wouldn’t you rather wear plain clothes?
Sowon: I want to buy some but I have no time. Because we don’t have a computer, phone or tablet PC we can’t do internet shopping either. We’re rookies so we’re being managed by our company a lot. I feel like if we have our phones we will be disconnected with each other, because we don’t have them we get to talk a lot together. I’m normally a quiet person but sometimes there will be a day that I have a lot of aegyo.

Are you also on a diet?
Sowon: I’m not. I’m stressed because I’m too thin. If you have a bit of fat, pants look good, but stockings are even baggy on me. I’d eat a lot of junk food at night hoping to gain weight, but I’d eventually lose it all again.

It seems like the ‘Glass Bead’ choreography is really strenuous.
Sowon: Because we have to sing live we practiced a lot before debut. We’d repeat the ‘Glass Bead’ choreography 6 times without a break. After practicing like that, by last September we could tell our breathing had improved.

Now that you’ve actually performed, what was the hardest?
Sowon: Expressions. I’d always say to myself ‘today I will give a big smile’, but after monitoring it looked awkward. I’m also not very flexible so the high kick was also hard. I practiced for 4 years. It seemed easy for everyone else but hard for me.

How did you feel after your debut stage ended?
Sowon: I don’t remember it…, because I was a trainee for a long time I always thought “When I debut I’ll cry a lot. I might even cry on stage”, but I don’t think I was that nervous. It didn’t feel real.

Have you thought about what you want in the future?
Sowon: Firstly I want to try a concept like f(x) seniors. Like ‘Rum Pum Pum Pum’ or ‘Electric Shock’. It’s really pretty. I also want to promote overseas. Someday I want to have a concert. In Korea, on the scale of Jamsil Stadium, overseas.. Tokyo Dome? (laughs)

Do you want to become a Hallyu star? (laughs)
Sowon: No. (laughs) It’s only been one month since we debuted. Rather than dreaming I think it’s important to realize reality and what’s possible. So rather than thinking about the future, I try to do well at what’s happening now.

Umji
I heard you have a lot in common with Yerin.
Umji: Yes. It’s really interesting, my real name is Yewon. We both have ‘Ye’ in our names, we’re both O bloodtype, both of our parents are from Gwangju. We also have the same birthday, and we both lived in Incheon. Because of this I became close with Yerin when we were trainees. It’s comfortable to talk to her.

Do you want to grow up quickly?
Umji: A long time ago my friends and I would say we wanted to become adults soon but since elementary school I’ve hated growing up. I didn’t want to go to middle school, high school too. I like being young. (laughs)

What kind of kid were you during middle school?
Umji: I did everything I was supposed to. During lunch or free time I’d go and play with friends. But when it was time to study I’d do it properly and my teacher liked me. I’d dance with my friends at festivals. (laughs)

How are your expressions on stage? You winked well during the intro.
Umji: I never practiced it, but there just happened to be an opportunity. (laughs) The cameraman said ‘When the light on the camera turns on, look over there and wink or act pretty and smile’. I thought to myself ‘What do I do?’ and quickly practiced winking. It somehow ended up looking good.

Did you ever make mistakes?
Umji: Ah, there was once a ‘pupil earthquake’. (laughs) During rehearsals I made mistakes. My confidence dropped a lot so I thought to myself that I should do better on the live broadcast. But the camera was a lot further away than during rehearsals. I was taken aback so I looked over there, and looked over here a lot. The fans even commented on it. None of the members knew about it.

It’s only been a month since you debuted and a lot has happened.
Umji: Yes. Also this is only minor, but I went to go buy a banana at the convenience store in front of our company. Suddenly I heard our song. I’d never heard it being played outside before. I was really embarrassed but it was also fascinating. When at the registers I asked if they knew who the singer of that song was but they didn’t know. (laughs)

Translations: tay @ gfriendunited
Sources: ize, gfriendunited 1 2 3