I thought it would be interesting to share how I developed relationships with other idols and got close to them over the years.
Starting with SM Entertainment, I began training there at the start of 2011. My grandparents were the ones who prepared me for the audition when I was just six years old. I remember performing a cover of Justin Bieber's "Baby" but with my self-written rap lyrics, and that's how I got accepted. Even at that young age, I was already quite tall, looking more like an eight-year-old.
In the company, I quickly became popular and earned nicknames like "SM Baby," "SM Maknae," or even "Baby Maknae." Most of the time, idols and senior trainees would drop by to visit me, often bringing snacks and treats. Among the EXO members, I was especially close to Baekhyun, followed by Suho and others.
During that time, my routine was either training or watching comeback stages since I was home-schooled and didn't attend a regular school. I wasn't particularly close to Taeyong at all in the back days, and to be honest, our relationship was always a bit complicated. But I got along very well with Mark from NCT when we were trainees.
Years later, I continued to stay in touch with many of them. Within NCT 127, I'm now close with Taeyong because he is my god brother, and I feel comfortable around Jaehyun because of him. Mark and I have been good friends from way back, and Haechan is just that annoying friend who insists on being close. My favorite member is Yuta, although I don't have that deep of a connection with others because my "brother" Taeyong is quite protective.
As for NCT Dream, my bonds are mostly with Mark and Haechan. I love all the members. Here's a secret: when I was younger, I used to choose my favorite group member based on who was the youngest. So, initially, Jisung was my favorite. But then I had this dream where someone pulled me against a wall and kissed me. I didn't recognize him at first, but later I realized it was Jaemin. After that, I couldn't stop paying attention to Jaemin, and he became my secret bias. At that time, Jaemin was on hiatus. I've also always enjoyed watching the Jaemin-Jeno duo. Now that I have grown up, I am not that attached to him.
When it comes to WayV, I wouldn't say I have a specific favorite, but I do have a good relationship with them. I even covered one of their songs with them.
Moving on to Red Velvet, I don't have as close a relationship with them as I do with SNSD, but we're friendly. Speaking of SNSD, I once accidentally came up with a chore part for one of their songs. I feel more at ease with them overall.
Now, about Aespa, we're quite close. I almost debuted with them instead of in the OST. I was involved in co-writing and even choreographing a few of their songs.
Switching to my time in JYP, I joined them in 2013 when I was about eight years old. Unlike regular trainees, my focus wasn't just on learning languages, dancing, or rapping. Instead, I practiced producing, songwriting, and similar skills. When the show 'Sixteen' started, I took a step back from training.
I'm closest to Stray Kids and ITZY members out of everyone at JYP. I've known Bang Chan and Han since my trainee days, and I get along very well with Han. Changbin, Felix, Seungmin, and IN can be considered friends, while Lee Know is easy to work with. But Hyunjin is something else; he's constantly on my case, not letting me breathe! But he's also one of my best friends.
As for YG Entertainment, I was never a trainee there, but my mom knows Uncle Yang Yang Hyunsuk, so I've visited their house a few times. I took auditions for both JYP and YG at the same time and was accepted by both. Ultimately, I chose JYP because I didn't want to wait too long to debut and didn't want any special treatment from Uncle Yang. Occasionally, I still visit YG. One time, while visiting, Uncle Yang introduced me to G-Dragon, my role model. That was such a memorable day; he was so nice and genuinely kind to me. I'm familiar with Blackpink members, although we're not that close. We did get closer when OST debuted.
With Treasure, we're like siblings bickering and fighting, but caring for each other at the same time. When we first debuted as OST, all the other members were close with Treasure members except me, as I was busy and missed a lot of training. But soon we became friends and got comfortable with each other.
Of course, I'm also close with BTS, mostly because of my cousin, Koo. I also collaborated with them on a song and co-wrote a few songs.
Yeonjun is my best friend, and Niki is practically my child since I practically raised him.
I also had a hand in co-producing LE SSERAFIM, but after Garam left, I was genuinely annoyed with the group. I wasn't afraid to show my displeasure publicly. I even did the 'Fearless' dance challenge with all the members and another one with Garam when Garam was still in the group. But when their song 'Anti-Fragile' came out, they called me over to do a dance challenge, and I straight-up refused, saying, "Sorry, I don't have time for this." I know it came off as harsh, but that's just how I felt.
I don't know how a backstage video got leaked, but the video of it went viral. And for the first time, even though it's only from a few thousand people I got criticized for my attitude but soon the clip was erased without a trace, and the comments about why I was bad with words made their way to a few lives that we did in the recent time but my attitude was IDGAF about the comments. After that, I mostly ignored HYBE's girl groups, except for Fromis_9.
I've had two super embarrassing moments with Seventeen. The first time was during our pre-debut era when they mistook me for a fan and stopped me backstage. The second time was after my debut when I accidentally got into their van and ended up at their dorm.
It was absolute chaos that day since my members, managers, and bodyguards were frantically searching for me, and I didn't have my phone with me. But despite all that, I'm pretty close with S.Coups, and he's my favorite, followed by Woozi. Somehow, I ended up being friends with Mingyu too, though I can't quite remember how that happened.
I'm a huge fan of ATEEZ, almost on the same level as I am with NCT. I love their music and everything. I am also close with Hongjoong and Mingi.
Here's a list of all the dance challenges I've done:
**NCT 127
Kick It, Baggy Jeans, Fact Check
**NCT U
Make a wish, 90's Love, Work It, Zoo (ft. Giselle)
**NCT Dream
Ridin', Hot Sauce
**WayV
turn back time
**EXO
Don't Fight the Feeling, Rover
**Red Velvet
Queendom
**Aespa
Black Mamba, Next Level, Spicy
**TWICE
Alcohol-free, Go Hard, Set Me Free, Scientist, Pop! Talk That Talk
**Stray Kids
Maniac, Easy, Back Door, Circus, Case 143
**ITZY
Cake, Not Shy, Cheshire, Loco, Swipe, Sneakers
**NMIXX
Love Me Like This
**Treasure
Hello, Jikjin, Darari, I Love You
**BTS
Run
**TXT
Back For More
**ENHYPEN
Almost all the songs
**THE SSERAFIM
Fearless
**Fromis_9
Talk & Talk, Menow
**ATEEZ
Crazy Shape, Bouncy
**(G)I-DLE
Tom Boy, Nxde,
**IVE**
Elevan, Love Dive
A lot of people wonder how we achieved success in such a short period, regardless of the company we were with. When we debuted as OnA, we didn't even have a company backing us, but were instead managed by KBS. During our training, we were pushed to the brink, almost to the point of breaking. The key was our training, which was relentless. We always performed live unless someone had a sore throat and needed to rest their voice. We practiced until we were perfectly synchronized and stayed up all night practicing stage performances.
Our hard work paid off in the form of our rapid rise to fame. Our team did an excellent job managing us, always coming up with novel promotional ideas and ensuring we stayed viral. We were asked to be mysterious and avoid sharing too much of our personal lives, so the company would selectively reveal bits about us to generate buzz.
Now, as OST, we're riding on the fame of former OnA members. But our group effort is still there, and most of our old staff have stuck with us.