"They say I talked so much that I broke the record for the longest individual live stream in Spark. I apologize for causing this trouble......."

"Thank you once again for your enthusiastic participation, and I’ll proceed with energy!"

"Question! What was the most joyful thing you’ve heard from a Sparkler?"

"‘Kim Iwol, don’t be discouraged! You’re doing well!’ I still think about it sometimes."

"Next question. Something you want to do with Sparklers!"

"I just...... want to do everything that the fans want to do. Just as we are having precious experiences thanks to our fans, I hope that being with us is an enjoyable thing for our fans, too."

"Someone asked if there are any particularly impressive ‘simp comments’ or memorable remarks from fans."

"I don’t think I’ve ever said anything amazing...! I did tell Park Juu recently that if his vocal cords were an electric guitar, their output would be so good that he wouldn’t even need an amp."

"What were your thoughts seeing the members on the deserted island......."

"....... What on earth should I do with them?"

"An item you’d want to sell as merchandise?"

"There are quite a few....... For OAHN, I wanted to make and include a small booklet of each member’s training log, but I couldn’t meet the production deadline, so I gave up, but I want to make that, and in the "End" music video, Jeong Seongbin’s hair is orange, right? That’s because of the setting that he spent the longest time living outside, so I wanted to include the diary he wrote while building the bunker until he met the members....... (speaking at 3x speed)"

"A question has arrived: ‘When are you going to upload a video of you playing the bass?’"

"The sound mixing work is not done yet! I’d be grateful if you could wait just a little longer!"

"There’s also a question about whether I have plans to do a ‘Study With Me,’ and actually, this question has been coming up consistently since our fan meeting."

"It was content I was holding back on because I wasn’t sure if it would be fun to just watch someone study quietly....... but should I try it once before Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Giyeon take their CSATs? I’ll write it down in my planner."

"And with perfect timing, someone also asked when I started using planners."

"I’ve been using one since I was a student. What started as writing things down so I wouldn’t forget what I had to do became a habit, so even though I use my phone’s notepad, I still keep a journal planner as well."

"Isn’t it hard when you have to do aegyo or when you watch the members do aegyo?"

"Not at all! You might be disillusioned to hear this, but we practice seriously in every field. So when a good result comes out, we’re satisfied."

"Which is better, a compliment on singing well or a compliment on dancing well."

"That’s a difficult question. I’m grateful for all compliments. But since my position is a vocalist, I’ll choose the former from a sense of duty!"

"’Up to what age do you allow casual speech? I was born in ’24, can you speak casually to me?’"

"Born in ’24? You mean you’re 24 years old? Is it a typo? Or maybe you mean something else besides 2024......? If you were born in 1924, as a matter of human decency, I cannot use informal speech with you. I am sorry. Please forgive me."

"And a lot of questions came in related to the bass. How I learned, what songs I enjoy playing, my favorite genre, if I still play air bass...... and so on!"

"The tutorials on MeTube are great so I taught myself by watching them. I like the unique thrumming sound of the bass, so rather than fast-paced songs or songs with a lot of shredding, I prefer songs where the bass solidly supports the other sessions. As a player, I like metal the most!

As for air bass...... I play it from time to time. Haha."

"Someone also asked what my hobbies are."

"My favorite is playing the bass. Recently, on Jeong Seongbin’s recommendation, I started playing a game and I’m having fun with it! It’s a game called ‘My Farm,’ and just recently, my farm started being able to produce corn."

"Ideal type......?"

"I’ve never thought about it....... I think someone who manages their own life well is cool!"

"The next question is my favorite shampoo."

"I like ones that smell like phytoncide or a forest. But sometimes, a cool mint shampoo that makes your scalp feel refreshed appears in the dorm. Who do you think buys that?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"I’ll answer all the ‘what’s your favorite ○○’ questions together! In order, they are season, color, animal, time of day, and mala tang ingredient!"

"My favorite season is autumn. I like the color black. Among animals, I think squirrels are the cutest. For time of day, I like the cool and quiet dawn, and I put a lot of corn noodles and bean sprouts in my mala tang. If there was a noodle factory in ‘My Farm,’ I could make corn noodles too......."

"Do you like a white tuxedo or a black one? Do you like a small wedding or inviting everyone? Should we send the kids to an English kindergarten or a regular one?"

"...I think this person left the impressive comment here! I’ll do everything else as the Sparkler wants, but I hope we invite everyone. They say you live happily for a long, long time if you receive a lot of congratulations!"

"Someone asked what my best and worst dishes are. Also, what dish I want to try making and if there’s anyone who taught me how to cook!"

"I’m good at making skewered pancakes. If I have a recipe, I can make other dishes too. It’s hard to call it cooking, but I want to try making soft tofu. I remember being fascinated when I learned how to make tofu in school. For reference, the portal site taught me everything about cooking."

"There’s also a question about my favorite and least favorite subjects?"

"I liked Social Studies the most and found Math the most difficult. I invested the most time in Math during exam periods."

"There were quite a few questions related to jjolmyeon. Like ‘Do you like jjolmyeon or do you just eat it?’ or ‘When was the last time you ate jjolmyeon?’......."

"At this point, I’m sure someone has spread a rumor that I like jjolmyeon. I just eat it if it’s on the menu! The last time I had it was the day before yesterday!"

"The next question is to recommend the most interesting book you’ve read and an impressive quote."

"It’s embarrassing, but I don’t like books that much....... You ask if I didn’t write ‘reading’ as a hobby on my student record? Well... doesn’t everyone do that?!

The book that comes to mind right now is Max Horkheimer’s ‘Critique of Instrumental Reason.’ I can’t be sure if it was this exact phrasing, but ‘Individual subjects possessed of reason have a tendency to relapse into a state of diminished ego’ was impressive. I’ll try to read more books from now on."

"This time, I’ve gathered some either or questions. I just have to choose one side for mint choco vs. anti mint choco, pouring sauce vs. dipping, pro Hawaiian pizza vs. anti, cat vs. dog, sea vs. mountain, and Cheonjiin vs. QWERTY!"

"I can’t eat chocolate, so I’ve never tried mint choco. The color is pretty, though! Sweet and sour pork is good either way, but I think dipping, which leaves room for soaking, is better for a group. I like Hawaiian pizza, and between cats and dogs, I like dogs. Between the sea and the mountain, I like the sea. I use a QWERTY keyboard!"

"There are more either or questions. I’ll choose between meat and seafood, raw fish and grilled fish, bone in chicken and boneless chicken, and fried rice and cold noodles as a dessert after samgyeopsal."

"I’ll go with seafood, raw fish, boneless chicken, and cold noodles! Looking at them all together, I think I tend to prefer things that don’t make my stomach feel heavy."

"A question also came in asking if I read webnovels, and if so, what the most interesting one was."

"I read a lot of fantasy. Recently, I’ve been reading novels that feature an ‘absolute god’."

"Next question, ‘Curious about what you ate for the past week’!"

"Our meals are generally similar. We have salad for breakfast, a free choice for lunch, and salad or a healthy meal for dinner. Though during promotions, we skip dinner to manage our weight. For my free meals, I had stir fried pork and jjolmyeon!"

"The time I laughed the hardest recently?"

"The moment my assets in ‘My Farm’ exceeded 3,000 won. I had been barely avoiding going into the red. I was worried I’d have to sell my household goods, but the farming went well, so I was saved."

"Someone asked if I’m going to climb a mountain to see the sunrise on New Year’s Day. Did a member mention this somewhere? ...Ah, Jeong Seongbin said it on BubblePop?"

"Thankfully, more and more people have been recognizing Spark recently, so for safety, we are trying to refrain from early morning mountain hikes. The sunrise viewing spots are dark, narrow, and crowded. If you happen to go see the sunrise next year, please be sure to show off with pictures!"

"If you could choose your own stage name, what would you have chosen?"

"As you can see from my name, I don’t have much sense for naming things. But if I had to choose one, would Ilwol (January) be better? Because Ilwol has more of a fresh anew vibe than Iwol (February)! ......You don’t think so? I’m sorry. You all usually tell me I’m right no matter what I say...... If you don’t think so, then I must be wrong. I will work hard as Iwol."

"If you had to pick just three of your own charm points? Saying you don’t have any is forbidden!"

"First, I have good stamina. The members have acknowledged this. Second, my throat doesn’t get hoarse easily. I think my vocal cords are strong. Third, I know a lot of Excel functions...?"

"A scary question has arrived: reveal an embarrassing school days story. I must expose my own shame... this is the price for not living a spotless student life."

"The period for mixing spring autumn and summer uniforms was over, so I was supposed to wear my summer uniform, but I was the only one who came to school wearing long sleeves. It was the first time I got a demerit, and it was really embarrassing."

"Next, you asked about my personal fashion preferences. And also who I would want to swap clothes with."

"Until I was a trainee, I prioritized comfort the most, so I mainly wore comfortable black clothes. Recently, I’m trying to wear clothes with a nice fit!

If I were to copy someone’s style, it’d be Lee Cheonghyeon. If I were to swap outfits then burn them afterward, it would be Choi Jeho. If those clothes were his personal taste, I would of course respect that, but that fellow really just walks around like that with no thought... I’ll burn them all and then buy him new clothes, so just give me one chance......."

"Does Spark not have an official color or individual representative colors? I’m also curious if there’s a set logo!"

"Our logo is different for each album, so it’s confusing, right? The basic form is ‘spArk’ written in standard font, but we change the style a little each time to match the atmosphere of the album. We don’t have an official color or representative colors, but since the group name is Spark, we use the orange heart the most."

"Someone asked for your six favorite photos you’ve taken of the members, including yourself."

"I’ll upload these to the fancafe separately! If I show them on my phone now, the focus probably won’t show well...!"

"Next question. Does Spark not use custom in ears?"

"Actually, we each submitted our desired designs not too long ago. I hope we can show them to you soon."

"There’s also a question asking if we have any plans to get matching accessories like team rings or friendship tattoos."

"Tattoos would be difficult because Park Juu’s skin is sensitive. If we were to get friendship items, wouldn’t we get something practical? If we got rings, I have an ominous feeling that some of the members would lose them."

"‘Indoor sports you want to do with the members besides basketball’?"

"Seeing as you wrote ‘besides basketball,’ I’m guessing you want to see a different side of us...... How about water polo? We’ve never tried it before!"

"I just saw a question that hurts my heart so much. ‘I’m really sorry for asking something useless, but do you not have a desk in your dorm room? It seems like you’re always using your bed or the living room table.......’"

"First of all, you absolutely do not need to be sorry! Our old dorm didn’t have a desk in the room, but my current room does! But if I make noise late at night, I feel sorry for Jeong Seongbin, so if I have to use my laptop at night, I use the kitchen table."

"Someone is also curious about the atmosphere of each room and what everyone usually does in their rooms."

"Our room is mostly about work. Jeong Seongbin and I discuss schedules and albums a lot. The maknaes’ room is noisy. It’s amazing how they talk every day and the conversation never ends.

On the other hand, Choi Jeho and Park Juu’s room is incredibly quiet, but they play in a peculiar way. I went in once because I had something to say to Park Juu, and the two of them were having a conversation while lying perfectly straight on their own beds. Don’t people usually talk while facing each other?

Now that I say it, I feel a little sorry for Jeong Seongbin. I should tell him a funny story when I get back to the dorm today."

"Next question, ‘Pros and cons of being roommates with Choi Jeho and Lee Cheonghyeon vs. being roommates with Jeong Seongbin.’ They also said they’re curious about the episode with Jeong Seongbin I didn’t finish during my birthday live."

"My former roommates felt like the best workmates. We could communicate right away, and Choi Jeho was never uncomfortable with me talking about work at any time. In that regard, Choi Jeho was very considerate of us. Now, the room atmosphere is definitely more peaceful! Before, it felt a bit like being in an amusement park that never closes.......

On the live, I think I was talking about making eye contact with Jeong Seongbin while on my laptop, and Jeong Seongbin bit his lip hard, picked up his notebook, and then put it down. He asked me, “Hyung, can’t you sleep?” and it was so scary that I said I was just getting sleepy right now and lay down immediately."

"Ah, a question that idols are bound to receive has arrived. First impressions and current impressions of the members!"

"First of all, Jeong Seongbin was so kind that he left a huge impression. Practically an angel. Current impression: he has been promoted to archangel. An angel, but a chief angel. He holds power.

Park Juu was very quiet, so he had a gentle image, but I learned that he has something solid inside him. He’s like an avocado. The outside is soft flesh, but inside there’s a super hard seed!

Lee Cheonghyeon’s impression hasn’t changed. He was the most handsome man in my life, is the most handsome man, and will be the most handsome man.

Kang Giyeon is the opposite of Park Juu. I thought he was a chestnut burr, but it turns out he’s a rambutan. I thought he had his thorns up, but it was just soft hair. Above all, he’s incredibly pure. He’s a friend with a heart as white as rambutan flesh.

Choi Jeho... My first impression was the Statue of David, and my current impression is a log. That is all."

"You asked for Spark’s ranking in drawing skills."

"Lee Cheonghyeon is really good at drawing sea creatures. He’s good at drawing what he sees, so I think he’d be good at drawing other things besides fish.

Choi Jeho is just so so at everything except princesses. I heard that his younger sister used to ask him to draw princesses when he was young, so that’s the only thing he became good at drawing.

I’m only good at coloring, and I think the other members are all about the same... Jeong Seongbin is a bit... Yeah."

"This time, I’ll answer the question, ‘Are there any members with a particular verbal tic?’"

"Lee Cheonghyeon sometimes refers to himself in the third person, but I think the fans probably already know that......

Choi Jeho often answers questions with a question. If you ask him, ‘What did you do yesterday?’ he’ll ask back, ‘Why do you ask?’ It’s not that he means anything bad—he just can’t relax unless he immediately asks whatever pops into his head."

"There’s a question asking: ‘If you expressed the members as drinks, what would they be?’ I’ll answer this question and the ‘drinks the members often order’ question together."

"Choi Jeho would be an iced americano? The cold, dark feeling seems similar. He does actually order iced americanos often.

Jeong Seongbin is that...... what do you call that coffee with whipped cream on top? A café mocha? A latte? He has that kind of feel. In reality, he drinks a lot of drinks that are good for his throat, like warm quince tea or ginger tea.

Park Juu’s image and the drink he actually orders are both yogurt smoothies. I don’t think there’s any other drink that suits Park Juu better than that.

I think a smoothie with a flashy color suits Lee Cheonghyeon well. But he drinks too many high caffeine drinks...... he’s in the process of cutting back.

Lastly, Kang Giyeon! Doesn’t an espresso suit Kang Giyeon? That bitter coffee that comes in a small cup! These days, he doesn’t order drinks at all, saying he’s cutting back on liquid fructose and sugar, but before, he sometimes drank fresh fruit juice."

"This time, I’ll answer the question asking me to choose the members’ spirit animals myself."

"I’ll make Choi Jeho a bear. You all know that bears are really strong, right? They’re very fearsome animals. Jeong Seongbin...... I used to think he was a Jindo dog, but now I think he’s a wolf. The kind of sleek, gentle wolf you see in those viral videos that pop up in your algorithm, with the title, ‘This child, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) raised in an American home thinking he was an abandoned puppy, turns out to be a wolf.’

I think Park Juu is like a harvest mouse. The photo of it inside a flower is really cute! When Park Juu asks the members for something, he looks at them with a very wistful expression, and it’s exactly like that.

I think I said Kang Giyeon was a leopard before, but my interpretation has changed a little. I’ll make him a baby cheetah. And Lee Cheonghyeon is a harpy eagle. Forever."

"If you were to film a tokusatsu show for self produced content, what color do you think the members would be and why?"

"Red has to be Jeong Seongbin. Red has the image of an upright leader who is not afraid to act, and to me, Jeong Seongbin is exactly that.

Blue is Choi Jeho? Someone quiet but oddly quick to throw in a jab... But when Blue is there, you get a sense of stability. Choi Jeho plays that role in the team.

Yellow is Lee Cheonghyeon! He has the vibe of being the team’s vitamin. I’ll give Green to Park Juu, who likes plants, and Pink to our lovely maknae, Kang Giyeon.

But if we were actually cast, wouldn’t we all end up playing Blue or Black...?"

"There’s also a question about the members’ exact foundation shades. We’re idols, and we haven’t answered this question yet? That’s negligence of duty, right? There was also a question wanting to know the members’ personal colors and what sunscreen they use, so I’ll answer them together."

"I mainly use shade #13. The brightest I’ve used was #11 during the ‘What I Want to Say’ promotions. I’m a Winter Cool tone. But this shade thing changes a little depending on the makeup, styling, and on site lighting, so I think it would be more accurate to explain in order of skin tone brightness!

Based on whiteness, I’m the palest, followed by Park Juu and Lee Cheonghyeon, who are Summer Cool tones; Jeong Seongbin, who suits both Autumn Warm and Winter Cool tones; and then Kang Giyeon and Choi Jeho, who are Winter Cool tones. We don’t have a single Spring Warm tone member......?

We use sunscreen from Indenia. I brought it with me today, too. Since I use it almost every day... Brand representative, are you watching?"

"Spark’s preferred movie genre, huh."

"We’ve only watched a movie together once, and it was a healing movie. Choi Jeho was half asleep. If we watch a movie again, I’ll ask them what genre they like! For now, I like human dramas."

"Wow, when did it get so late? It feels like I’ve only said a few words."

"We can finish it all today, right......? I’ll try to pick up the pace."

―

Max Horkheimer, Critique of Instrumental Reason, trans. Matthew J. O’Connell and others, New York: Continuum, 1974, p. 110.