Sweet 16: an age when the fantasies of the future ahead seem limitless. In IROHA’s case, she chose to turn those fantasies into reality. And she’s filling the canvas of her self-portrait with all the colors of the rainbow. What less should we expect from someone whose name means “wings painted with beautiful colors”?

The lyrics to “Midnight Fiction” are a reflection of the ILLIT members’ imaginations. What image did you have in your mind?
IROHA: The lyrics, “On a walk and the clouds look like my dog,” came from something I imagined. It’s like, when you look at the sky, the clouds are all different shapes. When I see a cloud that looks like a cat or a dog, I think, That’s cute! Lucky! That’s why I wrote those lyrics. I actually wrote them with “Lucky Girl Syndrome” in mind, but they ended up as part of “Midnight Fiction.” (laughs)

“Lucky Girl Syndrome” forms the basis for the SUPER REAL ME film that you star in. You showed how doing simple things—you “look at baby animal pictures,” “wear cute socks,” and “pick a lucky gummy candy and eat it”—is the secret to having good luck.
IROHA: “Lucky Girl Syndrome” is really similar with who I am. (laughs) I always find happiness in the little things. I feel lucky when I see clouds that look like other things, and I also like picking out candy and scrolling around shopping sites. And I like cats and dogs, so looking at videos or photos of baby animals fills me with energy. It was fun thinking about that side of myself while performing “Lucky Girl Syndrome.”

You can really feel that energy of how much fun you’re having when you step forward and dance looking all excited during the “Lucky Girl Syndrome” performance.
IROHA: Lately, my personal focus has been on the facial expressions I make during performances. Since it was a completely different concept from what I did on the JTBC show R U Next?, I kept thinking about what kind of facial expressions to make, and I tried to work on things like looking surprised or contemplative to each lyric and dance move. It was fun discovering I could do things I never knew I could do before.

You express yourself through your vocals more richly on the album as well. For example, you sing in a soft falsetto in the verses of “Magnetic” and add a unique twist to “My World” with the laid-back way you sing, “it’s sour jelly jelly.”
IROHA: I was worried about the “Magnetic” verse so I really practiced that part a lot. I practiced the high notes and falsetto repeatedly in the vocal practice studio before recording so I’d be able to sing them consistently and comfortably. I also did my best to fully immerse myself in parts like “it’s sour jelly” in “My World.” I closed my eyes and tried to use my voice to convey the feelings I had in my head.

It seems like you tend to put a lot of thought into everything to find the best way to approach it. You were a little unsure of yourself when you first took your profile pictures, but during the Weverse Magazine shoot today, you seemed like a totally different person. You looked more comfortable and laid-back posing for the camera.
IROHA: I was awkward and not used to doing shoots at first because I didn’t have enough experience, but I didn’t like seeing myself like that, so since then, I plan out in advance how I should approach each shoot based on the concept behind it. You can get good at a dance by practicing it, but now I feel like, for shoots, you have to freestyle it, and do poses and facial expressions that fit the mood. The mood for today’s Weverse Magazine shoot was relaxed and the outfits were trendy, so I tried to be cool. I brought my hands close to my face a lot in particular because I was wearing a lot of rings. (laughs)

It’s just like your slogan: “Hard work pays off.”
IROHA: I see all the time how hard work pays off. Whether it was monthly evaluations or performing on R U Next?, people liked what I worked so hard on, and thinking back now, I got feedback on the parts I could’ve done better on. I always hear that I’m a perfectionist, but I’ve always wanted to do everything the right way. If someone else can do something, then I feel like I can do it too, so I set high expectations for myself and believe I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it.

It’s easy for high expectations to lead to feeling disappointed or discouraged, though. On the other hand, you took the part where you slipped on something during your performance of “Given-Taken” on R U Next? and turned it into a special talent by practicing the fall, which was surprising.
IROHA: To be honest, even when I imitated that scene, I still felt a little bit sad about it. (laughs) But then I thought, Isn’t there something I can gain from the experience? How can I make myself feel better, and even enjoy it? So that’s what I tried to do. Feedback made me sad at first when I was a trainee, too. It made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. But then I realized that thinking pessimistically like that doesn’t change a thing. So instead, I decided to change my outlook and tell myself to just do better next time, and then I started to enjoy everything more.

You went on to win first place in the R U Next? round where you performed BLACKPINK’s song “Shut Down.” It was impressive how hard you worked for the sake of your team even though everyone was in competition on the show.
IROHA: I felt really determined to do a good job as team leader, maybe because of the sense of responsibility and because I’ve always been really competitive. When I practiced for that, I was thinking about how I wanted to make sure all eyes would be on me when I was center stage—like, Everybody look at me! (laughs) Maybe that’s how I was able to concentrate better and actually feel less nervous even with the short timeframe.

You must really enjoy pushing yourself. For example, you tried TOKYO BANANA even though you don’t like bananas, and chose the Red Velvet room on R U Next? to show a different side of yourself even though you were competing to debut.
IROHA: I really do love pushing myself, when I stop and think about it. I like change. Even though it takes me a little while to get used to things. (laughs) I like the challenge and the feeling of accomplishment at the end, even if there was an easier way. I just want to push myself and do as much as I can. Because I want to find out how much I’m capable of.

Coming to Korea from Japan at only 11 years old to become a trainee must have been a huge endeavor in itself.
IROHA: Just understanding Korean was so hard at first. But once I could speak Korean, I didn’t face too many difficulties. I was used to doing hip hop and choreography before becoming a trainee, so K-pop dancing was hard at first. The poses are completely different, for one thing. So (straightening her back) I tried to do it the right way by stretching myself out like this, and had to send energy right out to my fingertips since its hand and body movements are really precise compared to hip hop. I figured out little details by watching other people do them, and learning from feedback how to make it look better was a whole fun process of discovery. I even enjoyed the monthly evaluations because I was grateful for the opportunity they gave me to grow.

You really light up when you talk about dancing. (laughs)
IROHA: Dancing is a way for me to show off who I really am. When I put in the practice and then do a good job dancing, I feel accomplished, and I like that the audience likes it, too. I feel like, when I’m dancing, I’m the best version of myself that I want to be.

You’ve been considered a dancing prodigy ever since you started dancing at the age of three. When did you realize you had a gift?
IROHA: My mom was a fan of this Japanese artist who’s really good at dancing, so maybe she thought it’d be nice if I could dance too and sent me to a dance academy when I was three. I don’t remember exactly when it was, but there’s a video of me learning the basic hip hop bounce move from my teacher, and I was good at copying the angles of the moves and how big they should be. That was the first time I ever thought, Hey, I’m pretty good at this. (laughs) Every year they chose a small group of students to send to competitions, and I was one of three who were selected to compete in a dance contest. That’s what brought me to Korea. I didn’t know anything when I first came here, but the more I practiced, the better I wanted to be. Seeing artists like BTS or TWICE on the world stage, going on world tours and being on the Billboard chart, made me think they were so cool, and slowly I came to dream of becoming an idol.

You’ve mentioned before that you dreamed of being a dancer or a figure skater. You made a lot of buzz when you showed off your special talent for doing the “worm” on R U Next? I guess you’ve been good at everything physical ever since you were a kid. (laughs)
IROHA: Figure skating was a brief dream of mine back in kindergarten because the shiny costumes and all the applause after they jump seemed so cool. But then I tried it and it was really hard. I fell right away and that was the end of that. (laughs) But I loved gym class. I started swimming at four, really liked running, did tumbling—I even ran around the school with friends during recess and goofed around with the teachers. I was a really outgoing kid like that. Now that I’m preparing for the debut, I don’t get to talk to my friends as much, but I know they’re always out there supporting me, so it’s okay.

You’ve said that nothing in life makes you happier than receiving birthday wishes every year. It’s clear how important the people closest to you are to you. You must be so happy to have become a part of ILLIT, considering all you’re going to experience together.
IROHA: I used to think I could do everything on my own. But now, I’ve come to realize there’s a lot I can’t do by myself. For example, I have the people who are always there to help out during shoots to thank for the final product, so I’ve really learned to appreciate the people around me. That’s something I realized both on R U Next? and after becoming a part of ILLIT. I think it’s important to take care of myself and the group. We’ve grown closer as we’ve come to realize two things: The five of us have to do a good job together at everything we do, and we have to fully understand each other.

You talked about wanting to travel with the other members as part of your debut bucket list. The fact that you want to share your childhood memories with them and create memories together shows the kind of deep affection you have for them.
IROHA: I like looking at old photos. I like looking back at the photos on my phone to see what happened on this day one or two years ago. I buy things that you can only buy in certain places and remember the smells I smell there so I can revisit those memories later. I feel like I can recall those places better if I go there with someone else, so that’s why I want to keep a record of those memories and share them.

It was clear how in the moment you were when you first went on Weverse Live after you were confirmed to be debuting, visibly nodded along as YUNAH spoke and gesturing when explaining the meaning behind ILLIT.
IROHA: For the most part, I’d rather not be a leader, but add on ideas instead about what would be good, because everyone has their own way of doing things, so I always follow along with other people and try to show that I’m listening closely to what they say. When you’re the leader, it’s disappointing if people just listen to you and don’t have any kind of reaction. I’ve just always been that way.

You might not always voice your thoughts, but you think about things quite thoroughly.
IROHA: I always thought of myself as someone who doesn’t think about things very deeply, but I recently came to realize that I’m always thinking a lot without even being aware of it. (laughs) It’s not that I don’t have thoughts of my own—I just don’t talk about them much. Sometimes when something tough comes up, I talk to my parents, but living by myself in Korea has made me feel like I can handle anything by myself, so I stopped opening up as much. But the other ILLIT members told me it’s okay to share when I’m having a hard time, so now I think it’d be better to express myself a little more.

You chose TAEYEON’s song “Feel So Fine” to capture how you grew from facing the challenge of first coming to Korea. How do you feel now that you’re about to become, as the song goes, “a side of me I could only have imagined”?
IROHA: I tend to be a perfectionist, and I know there’s going to be plenty of tough times ahead. That’s why I think I need to brace myself, have a better mindset, and work hard. Things don’t always go as planned when you’re trying out something new. When that happens, you’re left with a choice: be negative, or try harder. When I was preparing for the debut and things would get tough, I imagined a brighter future—like imagining how proud I’d feel on stage after debuting, for example. Thinking that way makes me more excited and helps me do better.

What would serve as wings for you, whenever you are having a hard time?
IROHA: Encouragement. Words of encouragement mean so much to me. My parents have been supporting me with messages and phone calls ever since I was young. And fans always write letters, too. Whenever I receive encouragement like that, I think to myself, You have to keep going. Don’t get discouraged. Happiness, to me, is feeling loved.