Seoyeon said she has been calm since the day she was born and used to feel shy in front of the camera at times. But when asked why she chose a job where she has to be in front of the masses, she answered without hesitation: “Because I liked singing and dancing more than anything.”

You had a photoshoot right before the interview. How did it go today? 

Seoyeon: It was in an old-fashioned hotel, with fluorescent outfits and a hip atmosphere. It was really unique and fun to shoot. I’ve typically done a lot of still scenes before, but today I walked around in the middle of the lobby, trying really hard to look cool. (laughs)

That’s a total turnaround from the concept photos for your new album, Before Midnight.

Seoyeon: I’ve put on dresses when we were filming our content, but it was the first time I’m all dressed up for a photoshoot. The other members almost felt like strangers to me even though we see each other every day. I tried my best to make my face look as elegant as possible (laughs) but it was hard to do that while trying to look serious, so I was worried that the pictures might end up all looking the same.

What kind of facial expressions were you trying to make in the After Midnight version of the concept photos?

Seoyeon: I look sort of surprised in the one where I’m wearing workout clothes. That wall actually seemed okay when I looked at it for myself but then I sat on it and it was higher than I thought. They told me to make a face like I’m scared, but that was my real expression. (laughs) Every member is going for a clear image in those concept photos. For example, Jisun’s escaping somewhere with a stuffed bag that’s this big like a street peddler, and the other members were crawling and struggling along, and I was like, “There’s a hole you can go through right here!” (laughs) They all play their characters well and we had fun slowly bringing those images to life.

Every member shows off their own style in the lead single “DM,” too. The tone of your voice was impressive, by the way.

Seoyeon: I thought the song sounded a bit heavy when I first heard it so I practiced in detail, thinking it could sound good to emphasize the lower notes. To be totally honest, when I’m dancing or recording, I tell myself I’m the greatest in the world. I was smiling when I recorded the part, “In the mirror I’m so perfect.” I think I was feeling very narcissistic. (laughs)

You also make a really standout gesture in the choreography at that part. What was it like learning and practicing the choreography for “DM”?

Seoyeon: Every member has their own dance style and the choreography does a good job of reflecting that. I thought it was new for us the way there was so much focus on the way we move when we dance. It looks easy-breezy at first glance, but as the ones doing the dance it was unbelievably hard. There’s lots of moves where I have to fluctuate how much power I put into them so I have to keep my body full of energy. My heart was beating like crazy after one run-through.

While “DM” places emphasis on certain dance moves, “Escape Room” feels more hip and groovy.

Seoyeon: I liked the way they used the kind of dances I’ve done so far and the dance instructor told us to dance as androgynously as we could, with big, hip movements. When we first got “Escape Room” I was so happy because I thought it meant we’re becoming mature enough to have that kind of song on our albums. More than anything I was really pleased because it’s my kind of song. I liked my part and I practiced it so I could sing it really well. It was a little cringey recording the ad libs (laughs) but I’m proud it turned out so great.

You really seem to capture the hip mood in your vocals on “Hush Hush.”

Seoyeon: I was involved in the production, so you can see a lot of my singing style embedded in the song. I thought it would take a long time to record because of how many different parts there are but I think it only took around 30 minutes and we didn’t have to rerecord anything. Jiwon and I also did some of the vocal direction and we were moved by how much effort the other members put in. They were all working really hard, asking lots of questions, like, What if I sing it like this? I’ll give this a whirl. How’s that? All their effort shows. I was so thankful.

You must have a lot of affection for the song since you worked on it so closely. What was that process like?

Seoyeon: Jiwon and I work together a lot and our opinions line up well so there weren’t any problems. We know what the other’s thinking and this is the first time a song we wrote together made it on one of the albums so I feel great. I was thinking about what kind of lyrics I should write and tried writing about sneaking out late at night to take a walk around in an empty city like it’s a playground made for us and us alone. Because one day Jiwon told me that she went to the Hangang River alone really late when she was having trouble writing lyrics. So I thought maybe I should go to a playground or something but just ended up going to the playground in front of our place and sat on the swings until it was too cold and I went right back in. (laughs)

It seems like you have your own way of working on music. What’s your usual approach?

Seoyeon: It used to be different. As soon as I heard the music for “COLORING” I thought it sounded sweet and gentle, so I scribbled down all my thoughts as they came to me. That’s how I used to work, but after doing that for a while, I felt like I was straining myself and doing it the hard way, so I ended up trying to think up a bunch of related keywords instead and that seems like a good way to work. For this album I went through a chain of words like “escape,” “break away,” “ladders” and “playground.” My mom writes poems so I ask her for help sometimes, and when I’m really stuck I open up a book and look through it for pretty-sounding words. I also write toplines and I think I found my own way to do that, too. And since the songs are for us, I think for myself about who will sing what part. If I decide some part is for Jisun, I make it sort of quiet, like ASMR, or if it’s for Gyuri, I make it falsetto. All the members are so distinctive that I just think of them and I can quickly make a song.

How did you first get into making music?

Seoyeon: I don’t really like going out much so I’m almost always at home. And because I didn’t have any hobbies, I didn’t really have anything to do. I wrote a song while playing guitar but that limited the way I could write the songs I wanted. So I found some royalty-free music and went to the practice studio alone and tried writing songs, bought different equipment and brought it in one by one and tried making things by myself—boom-tsh-boom-tsh. After that the label asked me to try it the proper way and suddenly another of my hobbies turned into work. (laughs)

You’ve always said finding hobbies is your hobby. (laughs) Are you still doing that?

Seoyeon: I’m not afraid to try something new and challenging but I’m not really like, Let’s do this! I think finding a hobby is probably the hardest thing in the world to do. (laughs)

You seem to like taking chances a lot in your work, though. What’s your goal, as far as music goes?

Seoyeon: If you’re just asking about my tastes, I like songs that feel hip, and I really like Latin and moombahton. I think it’d be nice if fromis_9 put out that kind of track someday when it's summer. And I used to just write whatever kind of song I wanted to, so I have lots of songs that aren’t really suitable for fromis_9, and so I’d like to put a bunch of my old songs together, like a kind of mixtape. I made it my goal to someday release a fromis_9 album full of songs we’ve written.

With how ambitious you are about making music, you must be ambitious about performing, too. You recently saw flover for the first time in ages at 2022 Weverse Con.

Seoyeon: We hadn’t seen our fans since we were promoting “FUN!” They weren’t allowed to do anything more than clap, but their just being there filled me with strength. It just feels like a rehearsal when there’s no fans, but this time it felt like the real thing.

It must’ve put you in a different mindset while you were practicing.

Seoyeon: Yes. There would be lots of people watching out past the stage and it was broadcast live, too. “Feel Good (SECRET CODE)” was my first time dancing with props and I practiced late into the night so I could avoid making any mistakes since it would’ve been huge if I messed up. I realized when we were learning the “WE GO” dance break that I had to start and finish it at the center, which was scary. And the floor in the practice studio is really different from that on the stage. I’d never done anything like this before, but I asked if I could practice wearing the boots I would later, and practiced that way. Even during rehearsals I was trying really hard, like, Let’s put a little something extra in here. Despite all that, I think I felt like I could’ve done a little more with “WE GO.” I wasn’t entirely satisfied once we were done.

You’re quite the perfectionist, aren’t you? (laughs) I remember how on your YouTube show Channel_9 the other members mentioned you tend to drink when you’re drunk.

Seoyeon: Chaeyoung just said that to be funny (laughs) but cleaning is just like breathing to me, so I’d hardly call it a drinking-induced habit. If I can see it, I have to clean it. When I do the dishes, I have to wash everything in the sink—not a single chopstick gets left behind. When I get home from a trip, I empty out my luggage right away, too.

It seems like you’re thorough in every aspect of your work and personal life.

Seoyeon: I feel like my personality’s changed. A lot of it was done for me when I lived with my family, but I think I became more diligent after I moved in with the other members and had more that I had to do myself. And I also became a big planner. I try to save myself a little time by picking out and leaving my clothes and bags for the next day beside my bed before I go to sleep. I plan as much as I can before I go to bed.

What’s it like spending time together with the other members and working with them?

Seoyeon: We don’t even really need to say anything now that we’ve been together for four or five years. Chaeyoung’s my roommate, and she said she’s trying to be cleaner for me. (laughs) I think I have a brighter personality and I’m more talkative now thanks to the other members. I used to feel overwhelmed whenever I was scheduled to do something like a variety show, even if it wasn’t just me going on, so I would look up more about it ahead of time. I used to have a hard time even just speaking on camera, but the other members helped me out by being really supportive, saying things like, It’s okay, Seoyeon, say something. So now I feel like I’m becoming more confident, little by little. And sometimes I think about how I’ve grown a lot, too, thanks to the other members.

Maybe that’s why you look so comfortable on Channel_9.

Seoyeon: I even used to ask people during interviews for their understanding in case I clammed up since I feel shy around cameras. But after filming one or two episodes with the others, I started to feel comfortable and I didn’t feel shy anymore. We did an episode called “RUNNING_9” recently where we chased each other around doing a scavenger hunt. That was more fun for me because it was something where I could use my body. The best part was how serious everyone was. (laughs)

You must stick close with the members who are around your age.

Seoyeon: When I’m having a hard time or something’s bothering me I go to one of the older members, like Saerom or Jisun, but I figured out I go to the members who are the same age as me when I’m looking for someone to back me up. Whenever I want to act like a little kid—like, “Guess what I did? I did this today”—I guess I go to Nagyung or Chaeyoung.

What kind of things bother you?

Seoyeon: I think I was overthinking everything last year. I’m not impressionable, but I’m also not that good at making decisions, so I ask the other members what they think about this and that. This is just a small example, but one time I only had 30 minutes to eat and I ended up not being able to eat anything because I spent all my time thinking about what to eat. And I worried a lot about work, too. When I wrote songs, it took me forever to settle on the keywords and direction. Efficiency is very important to me, so after spending a year like that, I made up my mind not to waste my time. I’m 23 now and I want to be a more efficient and clever person in 2022.

Then what’s your goal this year for fromis_9?

Seoyeon: It’s not a big goal, but we’ve been working nonstop lately, so I hope no one gets sick and I want us all to work with our health in mind. Of course I have a goal to make a lot of appearances after our comeback, but it’d be sad if someone got sick and had to miss something. Looking back now, I feel sad about what happened during the “Feel Good (SECRET CODE)” promotions.

I assume that’s also because you always want to put on a good show for flover.

Seoyeon: flover supports us no matter what. I only have to open up Weverse and there’s always messages saying, Hope you have another good day. Keep it up. I feel invigorated when I see that. So I hope all of us and our fans stay healthy and nobody gets sick.

What kind of year will 2022 be for you and flover, do you think?

Seoyeon: I want to be like a close friend with them and not feel so far apart. I’m not usually one to post sentimental photos, but I started to want to post on Weverse whenever I’m out walking and suddenly see how beautiful the sky looks and take a picture, for example. And I feel like making songs is a part of who I am, so I want to give people a lot of good songs. I think songs can express what’s on my mind. I want to communicate with them all the time and share as much as possible.