Location: Korea University Hwajeong Gymnasium

How does it feel to be back?

Ni-ki: We prepared hard so that the 10-month wait [by fans] wouldn't be a waste. 

Heeseung: We are back, more mature through our world tour in the meantime.

Jake: As long as the wait was, we will show you a high-quality album.

Sunghoon: We practiced hard thinking we must show an improved version of ourselves for each comeback.

ungwon: It's already been two years and a half since we debuted. We want to live up to that and show our professional side.

Sunoo: Please give "Dark Blood" a lot of support and love, since we prepared it during our long 10-month hiatus.

Jay: We did our best to convey how much we've grown. All seven members prepared hard, and we won't disappoint [our fandom] Engene. 

Let's talk about the EP.

Jungwon: This is the first of our "Blood" series, which will potray the destined love between a boy and a girl. The story goes, an arrogant boy is punished with oblivion and suffers in loneliess until he starts regaining his self-identity and realized his destiny.

Sunghoon: In a way, it's like the strong bond between Enhypen and Engene that we felt during our hiatus.

How about your new lead track "Bite Me"? 

Heeseung: A boy meets his destined love and realize that they share a fate connected by blood. And, as proof of that, the boy wants to be bitten. It's a simple but strong message. Please listen focusing on the lyrics.

Sunoo: The atmosphere and rhythm of the song were all very new to use. We hadn't tried out this style in the past. It will be able to make you feel a lot of new things too. Heeseung took part in directing the recording sessions.

Ni-ki, you participated in creating the dance routine for "Bite Me." Please explain the key moves to us.

Ni-ki: I wanted to express a boy thirsting for blood. So the moves came out to be alluring, dark and unique.

Jake: There's a part in the dance where you tap your neck twice and then do a gesture as if you're getting bitten in the neck. That's the "bite me" dance. There's also a part where we make a gesture like "come here" and begging to be bitten, which is the "come here" dance.

*Premiere of “Bite Me” music video

*Enhypen performs lead track “Bite Me”

*Album preview video

How do you feel after revealing the new song?

Sunoo: I was so nervous, but I told myself I should present a great start. I'm in charge of the intro, so I was determined to rip apart the stage from the beginning. I feel like Iaid the first steps of the song well.

How was the busy 10-month hiatus?

Jungwon: Last year was filled with end-of-the-year TV shows, awards ceremonies, fashion events around the world... it was such a happy year for us. Personally, the happiest moment for me was the world tour, which I had been dreaming of since I was a trainee.

Jay: We were also the first fourth-generation K-pop group to hold a standalone concert in a dorm stadium [large venue]. It was a great motivation for us to take the next step.

Tell us about "Bite Me."

Sunghoon: Its about connection and how precious it is. That includes the connection between Enhypen and Engene. A boy meets the girl of his destiny and becomes determined to make sacrifices for the girl, and blood is what connects them. It's a simple love story.

Heeseung: It's also linked with Hybe's original web novel "Dark Moon," which was about vampires and werewolves. This EP centers around the key words "arrogance, curse and fate."

What is that connection with Engene?

Sunoo: They watch all our content and compliment our stages. We're naturally thankful for that. We love you, because Enhypen could not exist without Engene.

Jay: I always feel thankful for Engene, especially when I see a performance venue filled with them. It feels precious, and it boost my self-confidence whenever I see that.

What did you think about the lead track?

Sunghoon: It was quite a minimal song for us. We've never tried something like this before.

How was the recording session?

Heeseung: It was so unfamiliar to us, so I tried my best to maximize every member's unique vocal trait while directing the sessions. I'm satisfied that the hard work paid off.

Ni-ki: I loved the vibe when I first heard it. I couldn't wait to start performing it. We pondered how we can really bring life into this kind of a concept. Since it has many elements related to vampires, I watched the Twilight saga and studied the emotions. I thought about those emotions while recording.

Three versions of teasers for the new EP dropped: Full, half and new. What's your favorite?

Sunoo: For me, it's the half version. I love new challenges, and shooting for the half version required us to film underwater for the first time. I'm satisfied with the results.

Jungwon: I like the full version. It has a lot of vampire elements like mirrors and coffins in the background. You'll be able to find a lot of those when you pay attention. It was also my first time wearing a hair peace, and I liked it because I pulled it off better than I expected.

Tell us about the choreography.

Ni-ki: We got the "Bite Me" demo choreography during our world tour. I loved the song, so I wanted parts of my own choreography to be part of it. I got into the hotel room and started creating some dance moves. I'm happy that my dance style gtot incorpated into the choreography.

Heeseung: Compared to our previous lead track "Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)," the song is a walk in the park. So I got to focus more on my facial expressions. I studied facial expressions of the actors in vampire movies, and it was actually harder than dance practice! Constant practice made me master it. [...] The move that stands out most is the part that looks like getting your neck bitten.

*Ni-ki and Jungwon demonstrate the key dance moves for “Bite Me”

I heard the music video was fully filmed in Poland.

Sunghoon: We filmed the video in a castle in Poland. When we arrived there, it felt like a game or a classical movie. I'm confident that we got a music video worth seeing, with all that backdrop and performances.

Jay: There's a horseriding scene for me in the music video. I had only ridden little ponies on Jeju Island! The trainers helped me a lot. The horse was a male horse named Mika, and I grew attached to him while filming. I hope we meet again.

Tell us about your favorite B-side track from this album.

Jake: Mine is "Bills," with which we plan to do promotional activities afterwards. It likens the feelings after a break-up to receiving a bill to pay. The song has a vibe that I enjoyed listening to since I was a child. It wasn't supposed to be set for promotional activities at first, but producer Bang Si-hyuk heard our recorded version and said it turned out so well. So he decided it to be a sub-lead track.

Jay: I like the final track, "Karma." It's a punk hip-hop number with cathartic sounds, telling a striking message to never forget your destiny continuing from your past life.

Q&A session with reporters

What sets Enhypen apart?

Jungwon: Our concepts and performances. People think of a dark vibe when they hear Enhypen, and I think that's our signature color. As for performance, the members improved in terms of skill, attitude on stage and physical strength during the half-year tour.

Jay: I think of the keyword "ambition." All of the members study how to do great performances and love our fans, paying great attention to detail very sensitively.

What are your goals with this EP?

Sunghoon: We want to show that we definitely stand out from other groups through this EP, and show how we've grown as artists.

Sunoo: We want to enter a [domestic] music streaming chart this time and make great memories with Engene. I think we can achieve that goal because we worked hard for the past 10 months.

Jake: I want to tell you that each song is so good, with nothing to waste. I want people to know that Enhypen has great B-side tracks.

Enhypen fully embraced the vampire concept that it had been hinting at for a while. In what parts do you emphathize with vampires?
Jungwon: All of our abums since debuting are connected under a big storyline, and the vampire concept is a sort of decoration for this part of the story.

Jake: Vampires gain their strength from human blood. Like that, we gain our strength from the love of Engene. Also, vampires are known to be handsome, and so are we.

What are your goals globally?

Ni-ki: We want to show Engene how we grow as artists, let many people know of Enhypen as a team and go on more world tours.

Heeseung: I love a part of our song "Tamed-Dashed" that goes "just run." That kind of attitude, without looking back, was what motivated us to get so far. That, and we want more love from Engene.

The music video was directed by Song Min-gyu and Liu Kh, who are famous advertisement directors. Why did you work with advertisement directors this time?

Jungwon: We've worked with amazing directors so far, but we wanted to show a different side this time. We thought maybe we could create something different with a different director.

Sunghoon: Director Liu guided our acting in the EP's trailers so kindly.

What reaction from the public do you want?

Jungwon: We've released five to six albums so far, and this new lead track is something we haven't tried before. It was refreshing but also difficult, and I hope people think that Enhypen can pull this kind of concept off too.

Heeseung: You will be able to hear more music with our distinct style getting stronger and stronger. I knew Engene would like it while making this. 

Jungwon: The seven of us preapred so hard for this album. We thank Engene for waiting 10 months. We'll make the wait worth it by working hard. Please send us a lot of support.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]