I asked PLAVE about the film-like moments with their fandom PLLI before ending the interview. The members who answered playfully without hesitation, all the while repeating “niceay!” and “djinzzai?” suddenly became calm and serious, and answered the question with all their hearts. PLAVE wants to make an unending film in which PLLI are the main protagonists. A film that will stay with them for a long time because they are in it together. Just like their promise and declaration during their first anniversary.

Do the front raise rather than “Sarere (side lateral raise)” with your light sticks at our first concert! (The interview was held before the concert on March 27)
Yejun: I am excited but I also have a lot of concerns since it’s our first ever concert. The health of the members was always the priority while we practiced, and we’re trying to be as efficient as possible and not overwork ourselves so that we can enjoy ourselves while we are with PLLI. I think that our performances can make our fans happy, so we’re happily preparing for the concert every day.
Bamby: I hope that PLLI won’t do any “sareres”. (Laughs) The way you cheer for us is absolutely lovable, but I can’t help but worry that you might get worn out from it. I don’t want PLLI to wear themselves out just to cheer for us.
Noah: “Sarere” was an idea that we bounced around on our variety show, and we thought that it would be really fun if we could make it happen. But there’s always the danger of accidentally hitting the people next to you, so we agreed not to do them for safety reasons. PLLI need to stay safe, after all. “Sareres” might be too dangerous, but I think we can do some front raises for “yeah buddy” in “Why?” (Laughs)

Thoughts on working out
Noah: We’re so swamped getting ready for the concert that I only went to the gym twice over the past two weeks. I think the guys are working out at the gym or at home in their own time, but we couldn’t do it together.
Eunho: This time, our promotions and concert overlapped, so there was a lot to prepare for and do. It was physically taxing but I think my usual aerobic exercise routine helped a lot. I’ve also recently put myself on a workout diet. I’m trying to maintain my weight. I usually stuck to my low-calorie diet, and didn’t have any regular food at all, but now I do, though I only have the heavier dishes like jjajangmyeon and tteokbokki perhaps once or twice a month. I love food, and my single portion might look a bit different from other people's. (Laughs) I end up doing more aerobic exercises when I gorge myself, though. That’s how I try to keep myself fit. When I feel full and lazy I just go to the gym and run even if my stomach hurts a bit. I love the feeling of not giving into my weakness when I try to stay on top of my game. I feel my confidence drop when I let myself go because I don’t feel like working out or because I get lazy and lose the battle against myself. But I love that feeling I get when I know I’m keeping myself healthy, like I’ve won against myself, and that I did it. I like not losing to myself.
Yejun: I am focused on getting fitter so that I can do more for the group. That’s all the more reason for me to work out, so I have plans to. Only plans.
Hamin: The way I see it, Yejun doesn’t do any aerobic or anaerobic exercises. Only breathing exercises...

“WAY 4 LUV” choreography behind the scenes
Noah: I think Bamby and Hamin’s dance styles look so good because they are a bit different, but both very well balanced. They both come from hip hop, but Hamin focuses more on his dance lines - very clean, whereas Bamby is sexier, and he highlights his waves.
Hamin: I did taekwondo for a long time, and I tend to come up with clean lines, moves, and blocking that all the members can master without injuring themselves. One thing I learned from training in Taekwondo is that strong people know how to relax. When I practiced the choreography during the early days I put in a lot of strength and energy, but after I learned to relax, my moves became softer, and my lines are emphasized more.
Bamby: I put in a lot of thought into the outro, like when we strike our pelvis. We showed our fans our sexier side with this first choreography, so creating it was an exciting process. The members’ blocking and balance is perfect especially when Bamby jumps out for the dance break. (Laughs) After choreographing a number of dances, I began to take moves that I came up with previously or incorporate stories about us that only PLLI know. For example, in the “WAY 4 LUV” choreo, Eunho has this ambition to look like a wolf, and I created a move based off that because I wanted to make that happen for him. I borrowed the ending move for “Wait for you” and there's an homage to the part Bamby does while he’s sitting down in “Why?”
Noah: Honestly, learning the choreo wasn’t easy. I’m pretty slow when it comes to memorizing the moves, but adjusting to the choreo, practicing it, synchronizing our dance lines, and learning each other’s rhythms wasn’t easy. If we don’t like any of the parts, they (Bamby, Hamin) passionately fix it, and the rest of us work on synchronizing the moves that we learned. The five of us laughed, chatted, and practiced together to put together the choreo, and before we knew it our teamwork has gotten stronger and the chemistry among us has gotten amazing.
Hamin: This wasn’t my idea but Noah’s. When we get to the moves that resemble brushing something off our clothes we'd say, “There's a spider on you! Brush it off!” That helps us remember, and gets us in a good mood too, when we're practicing.

A stroke of genius
Noah: We didn’t really think of the choreography for “Wait for you” but we just knew that it had to hook you in right away. Whether or not the choreographers can create a highlight to the dance depends on the rhythm and whether or not we use FX sources and devices. But it was decided that there would be choreos from “The 6th Summer” onwards so we began to think of the concepts and choreos when we wrote the songs. In “WAY 4 LUV” we tried our best to make the dance moves and song fit seamlessly together.
Bamby: I don’t remember exactly when but when “Wait for you” was written we didn’t even think about the choreography. We assumed that we would perform it like a band because that’s what the sound is like, but I proposed that we put together a performance because I wanted to go for it. I knew that all the members were strong dancers, and I saw no reason to not use that to our advantage. I also thought that it was a good opportunity for us to showcase our strengths as a virtual idol group. Looking back, I think it was a stroke of genius. (laughs)
Hamin: After practicing alone at home every day, I was so happy to be part of a team the first time we practiced together. I was so eager to practice and get better and show what we worked on to our fans, that I asked the members if we could just not go home at all.

The process of writing the music for PLLI, their muses
Noah: We try to write music that’s pleasing to the masses with easy listening music at the core. I think that the songs need to be easy on the ears to get the public start talking about how good our music is. (laughs) We first decide on the genre and general vibe of the song. Once we have that down, then we each come up with a rough sketch, share it among the three of us, then string the best parts of them together to form a foundation track. We then either arrange the track then write the melody, or vice versa. We bounce a lot of ideas off each other and try to make the songs suit the unique qualities of each member. We try not to make songs that aren’t great fits for the members. For example, when Hamin raps in “WAY 4 LUV” he doesn’t speed like he did in “Wait for you” and “The 6th Summer” but uses a lot of different skills like switching to and from falsetto and his natural voice or syncopate and play around with the beats. We try to bring you something new. I remember Hamin sounding really good when he fried his vocals, so I tried to bring that out of him again.
Yejun: We talk a lot amongst ourselves when we write the music. We look back on our times with PLLI or talk about the jokes we made with one another. PLLI is our muse. Writing music for PLLI is our joy.
Noah: “Dear. PLLI” and “Pixel world” are about our journeys to find each other, and finally getting to meet each other. The lead single “WAY 4 LUV” is about embarking on a journey to find PLLI. We always have PLLI in our minds and try to weave them into our lyrics.

PLAVE, a new family
Yejun: We were fooling around and having fun when filming the game scenes and the moving scenes in the “WAY 4 LUV” music video. We weren’t acting - it's 100% us. Since it’s a music video, we had to make our actions bigger, so we would tease each other by saying things like “your face is so puffy” or share funny stories with exaggerated expressions. (laughs) Now that we have much more experience shooting videos, we have a better idea of each other’s rhythms, and work really well together now.
Noah: We used to have our own lives, and lived in our own spaces, but we came together to form a team. After “Wait for you” and “The 6th Summer” we’ve now become family.

Eunho and Hamin’s growth
Eunho: I grow and improve by giving myself cold hard feedback. For example, I have to try to perform live like a machine to be able to almost sing like the recorded track. I struggled a lot because of my perfectionist tendencies. I still struggle a little bit because of that. Before, I felt weak and incompetent just saying that I’m having a hard time, so, I couldn’t truly lean on the members. That ate away at me, and I felt that it got in the way of my work. But now, if I feel like things are getting a bit too intense, I open up to the members and talk to them about my concerns, and the things that I feel I need to work on. Then they would tell me that I can let loose a bit, and that they want me to relax because they know I’ve got this. I push myself really hard, but the members’ warm encouragements give me a lot of strength.
Hamin: To me, growth isn’t about the future, but about the present. Sure, growth is about showing excellence, but I also think that it's about being confident and trying to show them that I’ve improved the next time around even if I didn’t do so well this time. I feel that we are growing together when our fans cheer for us and send us a lot of love when we perform live, and that makes me very happy.

When choosing songs to cover
Eunho: I first pick out a song that our PLLI wants to hear. Sometimes we choose the songs that we want to sing for our PLLI. In my case, I sang “Like We Turn the Pages” by homezone because I wanted to comfort our PLLI. The lyrics are pretty, and I’ve been comforted by the song, too. I also sang “Loving You Girl” by Peder Elias because I wanted to express my love.
Hamin: “Uphill Road” was the first song that I covered as a vocalist. When I first recorded it, Eunho told me: “Let’s climb the uphill road of becoming a celebrity from a trainee with our fans. We’ll be able to overcome the difficult way ahead if we do it together.” What he said gave me the strength to record the song.

Errors during live performances
Hamin: I used to try to hide my errors and lags. I saw Bamby swatting at himself whenever there was an error to fix it. I tried it out myself and it worked surprisingly well. I don’t swat myself as hard as Bamby does, but I do gently tap myself.
Noah: Lately, I’ve been getting feedback from our fans that they're missing my errors, so I try to emphasize them more whenever I get them.
Bamby: Errors are always unpredictable, and I think that’s when we get to see the members’ personalities.

PLAVE brand of slang, “eutteuke!” and “djinzzai?” (ft. haiting!)
Yejun: We really say the slangs and memes that we use during our live shows in real life. PLLI like it a lot, so we naturally use it every day. We even use it off camera, so we have to explain what they mean when other people ask.
Hamin: We say “eutteuke!” whenever we have to move to a different location or before we eat by staring straight into each other’s eyes, acting like we’re provoking each other. That's how we keep each other’s energy up, but I have a feeling that it might become our new slang or meme. 
Noah: We all walk outside yelling “eutteuke!” “what should I do?!” while giving each other crazy eyed looks.
Eunho: Hamin really opens his eyes wide and yells “eutteuke!” His eyes get so big that I get scared sometimes.
Hamin: We have another new one. When we’re happy about something we say “djinzzai?” while looking into each other’s eyes.
Eunho: You have to make sure it sounds like a cross between a “z” and a “j”. (Laughs) I’m the very first witness, so I know. We got some great news one time, and our leader Yejun’s eyes sparkled when he asked me “djinzzai?” I’m pushing it as our new meme because that was unforgettable.
Hamin: I’ve been pushing saying “haiting!” instead of fighting, but it’s not catching on. I’m the only one who’s saying it. I’ll research more expressions that the other members might like and push them as our new meme!

Styles and concepts that PLAVE is pursuing
Hamin: I want to be an oppa! I’ve constantly been working on it but it’s not catching on at all. I’ve decided to just go with whatever I get.
Eunho: I think that as a wolf, I’m nicely maintaining my strength and my wild side.
Bamby: Not even a little. I always strived to be charismatic, but I don’t think anybody's noticing it.
Eunho: No, not even a little.
Yejun: I want to be a Doberman, but PLLI keep telling me that I’m a mulmandu. So, I’ve settled on Dobermandu. (Bamby: “Niceay!”)
Noah: I’d like to be a totally ripped idol. I’m planning on working out really hard to totally shred apart my shirt. But I’ve gotten a bit weaker at the moment. I think I should work out more after the concert. 
Hamin: I actually think Noah is always ripped. (laughs) I’m sure he can reach his goals.
Noah: I’m so happy that everyone is seeing myself the way I want to be seen. (laughs)

How to look like an oppa
Yejun: I want to be an oppa to our PLLI regardless of age. I want to be their refuge.
Noah: Hi, I’m Han Noah, someone you can always rely on, and someone who’s always ready to give you a hug.
Bamby: I’ve never wanted to be an oppa. But everyone calls me that. (Noah: You’re good at it.)
Eunho: I don’t think there’s a specific way to look like an oppa. Asking this question is very un-oppa-like, Hamin. Wasn’t this Hamin's question?
Hamin: I’ve made up my mind. I don’t want to be an oppa after all. (Eunho: Just like that?) Huh? But you said that’s how you look like an oppa!

Connecting with PLLI
Bamby: Unlike the other artists, there’s more distance between us and our fans because we’re virtual idols. We need to make more special effort to meet our fans. We’re just grateful that we have all these different media at our disposal to make valuable memories with our fans.
Yejun: I’m not sure we could have grown this close without connecting with our PLLI. We plan to continue communicating with them and make even more memories going forward. That’s my joy.
Noah: PLLI have become our lives. They are the meaning of life and my family. I see PLLI just like you would see your mother and father when you wake up every morning. I think that’s why I ask them what they have been up to everyday.

“PLAVE’s movie will be everlasting”
Eunho: We were very unsure when we first started out, but PLLI still sent us their unwavering love and support for over a year despite having their concerns. I am very grateful for that. Now it’s time for us to repay the love. 
Bamby: The reason why we keep saying the word movie when we’re with PLLI is because so many amazing things happened to us, that it feels like we’re in a movie - like being with PLLI and ranking first on Show! Music Core in an unbelievably short amount of time for example. Everyone might feel like they are the main protagonist in their own movie, and I want to feature in PLLI’s movies.
Yejun: I’m not sure exactly what genre it will be, but I think the movie starring PLLI and us will be a masterpiece. I think that the memories that we make with PLLI will stay in our memories for a long, long time.
Hamin: I’ll do my best so that our music can be remembered and kept in people’s hearts for a long time. In a way, it's only natural for a singer to sing and dance for his audience, but it isn’t easy to be loved for it. Whenever I feel loved by our fans, I think that a much bigger joy than I could ever imagine came my way. Thank you so much for becoming PLLI. (laughs)
Noah: Our dream of singing and becoming a singer has come true thanks to PLLI. Now I have a new dream, which is to stay with PLLI forever, just like what I say out of habit: “forever PLLI.” Ultimately, I think what we have here is like a movie without an ending. Even if this movie where we laugh happily, chat, cry, feel joy, get surprised - like life with so many different scenes - ends we’ll get the sequel, and another sequel after that, in a never-ending story.