“Thank you for your question, darling — I mean, reporter,” KickFlip’s leader Kyehoon said without batting an eye in a moment of classic KickFlip-smoothness that had journalists at the press showcase venue pause in the middle of typing to laugh.

The faux flirtation was a clever wordplay, flipping the Korean word gi-ja, meaning reporter, to ja-gi, a cute pet name between lovers, as the boy band held a press showcase for its fourth EP, “My First Kick,” at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul on Monday.

KickFlip, which debuted under JYP Entertainment in January of last year, gained online traction due to Kyehoon’s smooth, shamelessly flirty messages on the fan community platform DearU. The lines, seen as unusually smooth for a rookie idol, went viral for their creativity and humor, and the rest of the team caught onto the trend quickly.

This time, that flirty persona has expanded into the group’s musical narrative, shaping its latest EP, “My First Kick,” and its lead single, “Eye-Poppin’.”

“The flirty persona was something I chose as part of a strategy to promote both myself and our team, KickFlip, to a wider audience,” Kyehoon said. “But it is not something limited to me since we all share the same goal, and I hope our style receives more recognition with this album.”

KickFlip consists of seven members: Kyehoon, Donghwa, Juwang, Minje, Keiju, Donghyeon and Amaru. Amaru, however, has been on hiatus from group activities since September 2025 due to anxiety.

“My First Kick” comes six months after the group’s third EP, “My First Flip” (2025), and continues the narrative of first love and first heartbreak introduced in the previous release.

The latest album features seven songs: the lead track, “Eye-Poppin’,” and B-sides, “Twenty,” “Stup!d, “Backward,” “Scroll,” “Roar” and “My Direction.”

The members were actively involved in the album’s creative process, with at least one member credited on every track, further underscoring the band’s commitment to personal storytelling within its discography.

Kyehoon, in particular, contributed to the songwriting and lyrics for the lead track.

“Eye-Poppin’” feels quintessentially KickFlip, thanks to its high-octane pop-rock sound. The lyrics also declare the group’s desire to linger in listeners’ minds by becoming impossible to ignore.

As with its previous press showcases, KickFlip performed live onstage with handheld microphones, a relative rarity at press showcases, during which many rookie groups opt to lean heavily on backing tracks instead of performing live.

“Our biggest forte is our live performance capability,” said Minje. “And I believe such strength comes from the strong teamwork that we’ve built during our daily lives.”

In the cutthroat K-pop scene, having an instantly recognizable style — such as “KickFlip-core” — is a feat in and of itself. With its steadily evolving sound, defined by pop-rock energy, sporty youthfulness and a playful sense of humor, the group is carving out a distinct identity in the increasingly crowded fifth-generation boy band roster.

“We don’t want to be confined to any style going forward,” said Donghwa. “So I’d say KickFlip is a team that will take on any kind of music we want.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]