Official Description[]
The world of rookie girlgroup Girls of the Month expands with Hyunjin.
A single by Hyunjin, the second member of rookie girlgroup Girls of the Month. A month ago, the rookie girlgroup that took its first step with the reveal of first member Heejin and colorful pop piece "ViViD" now reveals its second member, Hyunjin.
Hyunjin's single contains "Around You", a teenage ballad track by production team MonoTree, and "I'll Be There", a charming candy-funk track by Artronic Waves which also produced Exo's "Tender Love", as dual title tracks.
As evidenced by having produced 24 singles befitting the 12 members even before debut in order to ensure musical quality, Loona are slowly drawing up a musical "big picture".
"Around You" is a teenage ballad track that has not been heard in some time, which paints the emotions of a beautiful crush that an adolescent girl might have upon a piano melody. The video accompanying "Around You", entirely filmed in Tokyo, include an 8-minute film version which is reminiscent of a Japanese romance film as well as a music video version.
Dual-title track "I'll Be There" is the first song that brings Hyunjin and Heejin together, a candy-funk track notable for the fresh charm that pops off from the very first line. This track was also filmed entirely in Harajuku, Tokyo, and presents music and video that suggests an overall direction for Loona, a girlgroup that can already give off a fully packed vibe with just two members.
Loona is receiving attention as a large-scale project that debuts a new girl and a single every month over 1 year and 6 months. Even beyond the volume of having 12 members, songs and music videos that introduce each member's character will be revealed, and other devices to experience background lore that expands with each new member will be prepared.
The first member Heejin has already successfully completed four fansigns with just her debut single, and Hyunjin will also be meeting fans through two individual fansigns and two additional fansigns with both Hyunjin and Heejin as a unit. Fans whose attendance at individual fansigns can be verified will additionally be invited to the first full-group showcase of Loona.
Revealing twelve members will take a long time of over a year, but Loona are redeeming that wait into each month's joy. [1]
Main Theory[]
Synopsis[]
HyunJin lives in the Middle Earth (the Cosmos) as a member of ODD EYE CIRCLE to help spread the primary colours, alongside Kim Lip and JinSoul (Red, Blue, Yellow). However, she misses her closest friend, HeeJin so she decides to leave the Cosmos and go down to Earth. In order to do so, she must enlist the help of Go Won, who will only help her if she gives up her colour (sin). HyunJin agrees and leaves for Earth.
Introduction to HyunJin[]
HyunJin is first met from the perspective of a cat. You and Me Together (?) is playing in the background as she sits in a room made of her colour yellow and light shines directly to her. This may symbolise her holiness, not yet tarnished with any sin along with the Cosmos. One theory is that when HeeJin created the three primary colours, yellow, blue, and red she put them into their own dimension of the LOONAVERSE, or the Cosmos. Kim Lip, Jinsoul and HyunJin were the original members of Odd Eye Circle. Perhaps hearing You and Me Together in the background suggests that HyunJin misses HeeJin and wants to get back to her. But how? The LOONAVERSE follows several biblical rules, including that if you sin you must fall from heaven. In this case the Cosmos being heaven. So HyunJin must sin in order to get back to HeeJin, and she can't do it alone. Furthermore, the lyrics mentionned that she has tried to approach HeeJin multiple times, but she just can't, therefore she chose to stays at home and is hesitant to sin.
The Broken Vase[]
Whilst at home, she isn't completely alone. There is something (or maybe someone) watching her. Not only once, I think multiple times (let us also note the fact that the watcher is watching HyunJin with their right eye since their left eye are covered by the wall).
HyunJin probably knows the existence of this "watcher”, but she is not really bothered it. The watcher probably just stares vacantly and leaves. Many believe that this is the cat that Go Won (and Chuu) sent. If it was a human, the only people who come to mind are HeeJin and Jinsoul.
HyunJin seems startled by the sound of something breaking from another room. She follows the sound to a broken vase, with thistles and water strewn across the floor. This shows HyunJin is not alone since someone has arrived. And as theorised by twinfish, thistles are a symbolism of royalty, which can be associated with Go Won. We are later confirmed that this is in fact Go Won with the See Saw Cinema Theory, and that she has come a long way to meet HyunJin.
The Bracelet[]
HyunJin is slowly opening a door and find a bracelet on the other side. It was left to her by Go Won according to the clues previously seen of the thistles. She smiles, showing she's happy to have the key to let her fall from heaven and meet HeeJin on earth. It's also not a coincidence that the tag on the bracelet is bright pink, HeeJin’s colour.
But, when HyunJin found the bracelet, shouldn't she be sad? She later loses her colours, but she smiles as if the bracelet was a gift. Is she smiling and thinks as if "The day has finally came." Did she desperately want to be with HeeJin and leave Odd Eye Circle? What’s so bad about Odd Eye Circle? Is there a hidden side to Odd Eye Circle?
Just a random thought, when the bracelet is shown the lyric says "I just leave again without a word" might foreshadows to the fact that the cat has been watching HyunJin even before this and now leaves with only a bracelet and without a word.
After HyunJin received the bracelet, she is somewhat colourless. It was shown that she is in a dark clothing with pearls on it, and she closes the curtains. I think the fact that she is now kicked out of OEC makes her disappointed in herself, and now she shuts herself out of the outside world (or maybe trying to hide from HeeJin because she feels ashamed or maybe scared that she has now lost her colour).
Leaving the Cosmos[]
HyunJin leaves her home wearing dark coloured clothing, confirming that Go Won took her colour in exchange for leaving the Cosmos. But now all alone, HyunJin is lost. She carries the letters with her and enters the barber shop.
The Barber Shop[]
She enters what is assumed to be a barber shop, based on the sink behind her. Several jars of colour are to the right of her. This is a very interesting detail, considering that several members have had their hair dyed their representative colours (Vivi had hers dyed pink, Choerry purple, Yves burgundy, and Olivia had black). This could be the place where she had her colour (yellow) removed, to keep up the deal with Go Won, but she doesn't look so happy to be there.
She maybe trying to attempt to regain her colour by coming here. She thinks that this shop can helps her regain back her colours, proven by the colourful jars behind HyunJin near the window. Before HyunJin walks out of the shop, a golden cat comes towards the stairs into the shop. But when HyunJin was about to walk down, the cat goes away from her. HyunJin later seems disappointed not only because the golden cat leaves, but maybe because she also failed to gain back her colour through her own way.
The Letter[]
There’s then a flash of the letters HyunJin was holding. The only colored one has HeeJin’s colour, bright pink. This is a solid clue that HyunJin is trying to get to HeeJin specifically.
The Golden Cat[]
As HyunJin leaves the barber shop, a coloured cat observes her from the bottom of the staircase. I believe that this is HyunJin’s shadow self. As she approaches, the cat walks away. The cat is also a symbol of HyunJin. It's also important to note that the golden colour is a symbol of royalty and enlightenment, just as Go Won’s hair became blonde when she accepted the members of yyxy. So this cat is two things, part of HyunJin leaving her, as well as Go Won’s hold on her.
HyunJin's Transformation[]
After this, HyunJin is wearing a cat head and, as theorized by twinfish, thinking about the cat considering she is staring off into the distance, or that she is enlightened. This can be confirmed by how she puts her hand under her chin, which can be seen in reference to the famous French stature, The Thinker, which in itself is a world-renowned symbol of higher knowledge and knowing. Also, since the the cat head is covering her face, maybe is a representation that HyunJin is embarrassed that she lost her colour after being removed from the OEC.
This idea of enlightenment and understanding the world "around you" is an essential idea of the LOONAVERSE. As seen with members of yyxy, the symbolism of a member gaining knowledge is seen as a chandelier over a member's head, a lamp, and now a bright yellow cat. It is a play of the idea of a light bulb going off over someone's head, but in its own unique LOONAVERSE way of representing the idea.
Now that she's allowed Go Won and essentially yyxy into her yellow world, she's opened a door into theirs, where she can see further into the LOONAVERSE then she's ever seen before.
As she sees the world through these new lens and with this new knowledge, she's gained an understanding of the Möbius strip. The same scenes repeating over again, but this time HyunJin is wearing the cat head. Throughout LOONA's music videos, the same scenes being shown over and over again show the looping effects of the Möbius.
In the end, HyunJin finally is with HeeJin, but is not brave enough to talk to her. HeeJin's seat has an empty space enough for one more person, but HyunJin chooses to sit far away from her. HeeJin realises that something is wrong. She looks at HyunJin and wonders why her face is covered with the cat head.
Since HyunJin won't talk, HeeJin finally looks at her clothes, realising that it isn't yellow (HeeJin realising that HyunJin lost her colour) but she isn’t really bothered by it.
HyunJin tilts her head away even further from HeeJin. She feels like it is her fault, but HeeJin forgives her because it wasn't her doing.
Gaining Knowledge of the LOONAVERSE[]
At the very end of the music video, HyunJin turning toward us and seven cats behind her, and with her included, symbolising the first eight girls or the original members before yyxy. It's also important to note that she's once again showing her enlightenment and understanding of the world around her by turning towards the viewer and breaking the fourth wall.
She's smiling knowingly, like she's aware of what she's done and what lies ahead, but she's happy where she is. Also considering how early this scene is into into Loona’s story, how this music video was released months before the LOONAVERSE was announced or before Orbits began to theorise the story of the girls, she's showing that we have a lot in store ahead of us, beyond her and beyond the next eight members.
Side Theory: The Lyrics (twinfish, Birbfriend)[]
HyunJin watches the person she loves but can't bring herself to confess to them. She ends up always leaving without confessing and as the LOONAVERSE is looped she doesn't ever get to confess to them as the day repeats.