You don’t need to be a fan of third generation superstars Twice to know of their impact on the K-pop world. As we slide into the fifth generation of K-pop, there is still no doubt about the nine-piece’s talent and popularity, now cemented firmly as titans of the genre. And what does a pop group do once a certain amount of time has passed, and milestones have all been hit? Solo projects, of course.
Led initially by Nayeon in 2022 and followed up by Jihyo last year, it is now maknae Tzuyu’s turn to debut as a soloist. With the lead single from her new EP, “Run Away”, and accompanying MV, Tzuyu is perhaps taking the biggest step away from her persona within the group. Whilst her fellow members stuck pretty firmly to the vibes and styles they are known for, Tzuyu presents herself here in a more sultry, mature, and even dark manner.
She lets us know from the very opening shots of the MV that we aren’t going to be dealing with the bright, cute maknae of Twice. Opening with just her voice (which is notably strong here) and a piano, we see Tzuyu sat on a grand bed, underneath a chandelier, in front of draped floor-to-ceiling windows and amidst almost gothic furnishings. The music begins simply, and the visuals darkly, setting up a (literally) shadowy side to Tzuyu’s character.
This first scene, and many that follow it, are particularly dark; this opener feels set at either dawn or dusk, while the next is a dimly lit night sequence. Though this is not true of the entire MV, the majority of scenes take place either at night, or in dark rooms. In some of the final sequences, the lighting even obscures Tzuyu’s face and clothing, the shadows overtaking the entire shot. It’s not a complex way to signify something dark and edgy, but it’s striking, and achieves its aim of showing a literally different light to Tzuyu’s persona.
This new angle on her personality comes through most clearly in the lyrics to the song. A lot of it, on a surface level, could be understood as a typically intense declaration of new love:
Are you ready to
Fall in love, so true?
This love I have for you
So are you ready tonight?
However, this intensity quickly spills into something more sinister, as is suggested by the title’s urgent instruction to “run away.” The love that Tzuyu is offering here is more than sweet, it is deliciously menacing:
Once you turn in, there’s no turning back
Are you ready for it?
Until the final decision, watching
I’ve been watching you
Her disturbing claims to be “watching” her lover are matched by her extreme certainty that they will “beg to stay” once they are “in [her] arms”. This is not really reflected in the music itself, which moves quickly after the bold opening chorus into a fairly standard driving synth-pop beat. It is actually reminiscent of the sounds of earlier K-pop in the second generation, which is no bad thing.
The lyrics and musical style being slightly at odds may seem like a misstep, but the imagery of the MV cleverly provides the missing link. The solidly ‘dancey’ soundscape may not have any sinister undertones, but a lot of the set pieces here are able to do that work instead. There are several scenes between Tzuyu and a lover figure, often in shadow or in blurry motion, so that he is never as clear to the audience as Tzuyu is. Throughout the MV we can see her cradle his head in her lap, grab his face with her hands from behind, and wrap a red string around his bandaged finger as examples of her slightly unhinged approach to falling in love.
These interactions are frequently mysterious and enigmatic in meaning: The most distinctive of these is the use of the red string, which Tzuyu later cuts, allowing the stained bandage to fall to the floor. This imagery feels threatening, almost evocative of the mythological Fates deciding the life span of mortals by spinning and then cutting their life threads. This imagery adds the perfect contrast, undercutting the sweetness of the music, and reminding us that the lyrics she is singing here are not straightforward.
Aside from these scenes with the lover figure, the mis en scène of the MV is darkly grand, a decided side step from the bubbly light palette that we might have expected from Tzuyu. The dance sequences take place at the foot of a swirling double staircase in a stately home that is similar to the main dance sequence of “What is Love?”, as well as in an underground basement, and on the steps of an imposing, cathedral-like building at night. Whilst the stately home feels closer to the Twice aesthetic, the other sequences are a refreshing surprise.
The underground setting is lit with overhead fluorescent lights, while the cathedral section is peppered with spotlights, with about 30 dancers surrounding Tzuyu on a red carpet. These settings feel like she’s making a statement to go alongside the unsettling undertones of the song itself: She is the centre of attention, and she can be that anywhere she wants, not just where you expect.
This is pleasantly echoed by quite a few of the styling choices that are made in the MV as well. Whilst wearing black in the underground sequence is hardly ground-breaking, and the shredded cream two-piece she wears for the shadowy solo dance sequence at the MV’s close could be seen on just about any female K-pop star, there are some more exciting dresses on offer. The teal silk halter dress that she wears for the first dance sequence is an excitingly different cut and colour choice for K-pop (it’s not short! It’s not cropped!), and also highlights a maturity in her beauty.
She is also seen throughout the MV in a bright red layered dress, with piles of chiffon draping around her shoulders and a mullet-cut skirt (short in the front, long in the back). This dress is mostly used when she is running throughout a dark city backdrop, with the layers emphasising her movement, and the colour popping vividly against greys and blacks around her. Again, it’s not complex visual imagery, but this sartorial choice literally makes her standout from the background, a highlight amongst the gloom.
There are sequences in the MV that seem to veer back towards the classic idea of a light, princess-esque Tzuyu. In the last 30 seconds, we briefly glimpse her in a field of blue and purple flowers, her hair in a chignon (it is down and loose for most of the MV), wearing a pale lilac froth of a tulle dress. However, the artificial brightness of this moment, when paired with the rest of the MV’s sequences, gives it a surreal, dreamlike edge: In this sequence, we have entered the deluded world of love that Tzuyu is singing about, but it is not real. Even her ruffled, patterned white dress in the cathedral dance sequence, whilst romantic, feels loose and unstructured, especially with her hair flowing down, a hint at a lack of stability amongst the proclamations of love.
For a debut in which Tzuyu specifically wanted to emphasise a “more mature, intense side” of herself, this MV feels like a success. It manages to mirror the threatening sentiment of the lyrics beautifully, and therefore gives the music a depth it might not otherwise be able to achieve. Tzuyu steps confidently into her role as the over-zealous lover, and uses imagery deftly to display the different aspects of her character. She wanted to move beyond the image of the cute maknae, and she truly has, perhaps the most successfully of any Twice member so far.
(The Korea Times, YouTube. Lyrics via Genius. Images via JYP Entertainment.)
