Formed as the winning participants of survival show Project 7 (2024) and made up of seven members chosen by a global audience, CLOSE YOUR EYES arrived with attention already trailing behind them.

Their 2025 debut – the mini album ‘ETERNALT’ – was swift; their rise through follow-ups ‘Snowy Summer’ in July and ‘blackout’ that November faster still, collectively pushing the group past the million-sales mark within their first year as a fully realised act. But when we speak with the members for this cover story, they talk less about momentum than about process – how they move together, how they see themselves, and how they’re learning to exist beyond Project 7, outside of performance alone.

Most people will have encountered CLOSE YOUR EYES through music and performance. On stage, the group has begun shaping a visual language that’s deliberate and layered, with styling, movement, and atmosphere working together to guide how they’re seen. During a recent performance of “SOB,” they appeared in reinterpreted hanbok looks – the same ones worn for this editorial. Built from traditional cheolik silhouettes and reconstructed into something more contemporary, the outfits were described by the designer, Lee Ji-eon, as a reinterpretation of hanbok through the lens of youth and renewal.

For this cover shoot – a presence-led pictorial that fuses tradition and modernity – the members are seen first without choreography or sound, relying instead on expression and presence. Capturing them in stillness away from the stage, the focus shifts to a different version of CLOSE YOUR EYES.

For JEON MINWOOK, that shift felt unexpectedly energising. “I really enjoy taking on new challenges, so it was fun to come face-to-face with a different side of myself through this photoshoot,” he says. “It made me want to keep showing even more sides of who I am moving forward.”

KIM SUNGMIN felt the contrast immediately. “On stage, I usually try to pour all of my energy into every performance,” he explains. “For this photoshoot, though, I felt like I was able to relax a bit and show myself as I am, which made the whole experience feel very comfortable and natural.”

It’s a subtle but telling distinction. Where live performance demands intensity and projection, the still image asks for something closer to presence. Here, CLOSE YOUR EYES aren’t performing at the viewer – and, without choreography or performance cues to lean on, the members describe a different, more instinctive kind of discipline.

For MA JINGXIANG, it begins with “confidence,” he says. “A photoshoot isn’t something you can perfect through practice the way you do with choreography or performance, so your attitude really matters. I try to approach it with as much confidence as possible.” He adds: “Honestly, I feel like my body proportions stand out more in photos, so I tend to focus on poses that highlight that as one of my strengths.”

For JANG YEOJUN, the connection is quieter but just as deliberate: eye contact. “I believe there’s a kind of power in eye contact that can’t really be put into words. I think I’m someone who carries a lot of energy through my eyes, so that’s what I try to express most in a photoshoot.”

SEO GYEONGBAE describes his strength as something closer to instinct than technique. “I see myself as someone who has a lot of natural flair,” he says. “So I tend to rely on that ‘spark.’ I really try to show it through my facial expressions and poses as much as I can.”

Taken together, their answers reveal an understanding that image, like performance, is its own language, spoken without sound or movement. Printed moments freeze time in a way performance never can. Long after stages change and routines move on, images remain, carrying small details that only gain meaning with distance.

MA JINGXIANG answers earnestly when asked what he hopes this shoot will remind him of in years to come. “I hope this moment stays with me as a memory of thinking, ‘We were really cute back then,’” he says. “I feel like we made such a wonderful memory at this photoshoot.”

For KIM SUNGMIN, the thought stretches gently into the future. “I hope I look back and think, ‘We took such cute photos back then!’” he says. “I believe that a few years from now, I’ll carry a more mature and cool aura than I do now.”

SEO GYEONGBAE’s reflection lands somewhere between humour and honesty. “One thing I pay a lot of attention to about my face is my cheeks,” he begins. “So when I look back at this moment in a few years, after they’ve slimmed down, I hope I’ll think, ‘Wow, I really worried about my cheeks back then!’ and feel proud of how much I’ve grown,” he says with a laugh.

These images don’t just document how CLOSE YOUR EYES look now. They capture how they see themselves in motion, aware that change is inevitable, and unafraid of it. And if our photos are the first point of contact for those still learning about CLOSE YOUR EYES, the members are clear about what they want to communicate. For MA JINGXIANG, it starts from a simple wish. “I hope that just from looking at the photos, people think, ‘Wow, they look cool!’” he says. “And I also hope it makes them curious about our music videos and our performances.”

KENSHIN echoes that idea, framing the images as an invitation. “I want people to feel, ‘They’re a good-looking group,’ and ‘They’re really a charming team,’” he says. “And naturally start wondering, ‘What kind of music do they make?’”

It’s a fair question – and to answer that, CLOSE YOUR EYES describe a mindset. “I would say it’s about courage and believing in yourself,” JEON MINWOOK says. “We try to present music across many different genres and styles, and no matter what kind of song it is, we approach it fearlessly and make it our own by telling our own story through it.”

For SEO GYEONGBAE, the throughline is movement. “For me, it’s ‘curiosity,’” he says. “I think each of our three albums so far has shown a different kind of charm and diversity, and that naturally leads people to feel curious about what we’ll explore in our next album.”

But there’s more to the group than dynamic visuals or rapid momentum – even their name carries intent. CLOSE YOUR EYES was conceived as an idea that extends beyond what’s visible. To JEON MINWOOK, that idea is practical as much as it is symbolic. “I think it pushes us to work even harder to turn what we dream of into something real,” he says. “We always try to capture and express our most genuine selves through our music and visuals. For me especially, I try to show who I am as naturally and honestly as possible, without dressing it up.”

KENSHIN describes a shift rooted in self-trust rather than performance. “The idea of ‘closing your eyes’ has made me more honest with myself,” he says. “Rather than trying to follow someone else, I feel like it’s helped me trust my own way of expressing myself and step onto the stage with more confidence in who I am.”

Long before this was a reality, CLOSE YOUR EYES existed only as a collection of personalities learning how to move together before the outside world began to name them.

JANG YEOJUN describes that early stage with one word: potential. “Each of us has a different kind of charm, and I think people were curious about what kind of team we would become and what concepts we could pull off together. In the end, we became a combination that can connect with the public through any concept.”

For KENSHIN, it was a moment of openness rather than uncertainty. “For the early days of CLOSE YOUR EYES, I would describe them with the word ‘possibility,’” he says. “We were all in a state where we could transform into any colour, without being confined to a fixed frame, and I believe we carried endless potential.”

There’s a calm confidence in the way they reflect on that period now, as something that still informs how they move forward. Rather than being fixed early on, CLOSE YOUR EYES were shaped by flexibility, by the idea that identity could be something discovered rather than decided.

Meanwhile, the day-to-day reality is far more human than the polished on-stage perfection. KIM SUNGMIN is honest when asked what people don’t usually see. “On stage, we might look like we’re completely in sync as one,” he says, “but in real life, each of us has such different personalities that we sometimes bicker over the smallest things – and then laugh about it and make up almost right away.” He adds: “We’re actually a much noisier, more playful, and cuter team than people might expect.” It’s a healthy balance – one in which the strongest, most resilient teams are often forged.

For JANG YEOJUN, trust is important: “I try to believe that there’s a reason behind everything and to trust the members, no matter what. I think that kind of trust naturally turns into care and understanding for one another.”

SONG SEUNGHO describes the group less in terms of personality and more in terms of how those differences quietly keep everything balanced. “Because we spend so much time together, I don’t think it’s realistic for everyone to always be in a good mood. So we really try to be considerate and respectful of each other. Sometimes we also gather just to talk openly and share what’s on our minds,” he shares.

Elsewhere, he reflects on how those dynamics play out in practice. “Each of us has our own strengths,” he explains. “There’s someone who lifts the mood, someone who teaches the choreography, and others who shine in different ways.” What matters, he says, is how those roles intersect. “What makes us special is how all of those differences come together to create balance within the group.”

It’s harmony in the sense of contrast – a shape formed by seven distinct energies learning when to lead and when to give way. The closeness doesn’t come from avoiding friction, but from moving through it together, quickly, honestly, and without holding on.

Spending so much time together has a way of softening edges – not by changing who you are, but by revealing your traits more clearly. For KIM SUNGMIN, that realisation came quietly. “I think it’s my ‘clumsy charm,’” he says. “It’s not so much that I discovered something new – it’s more that, after spending so much time with the members, I’ve become really comfortable, and my true self naturally comes out more.”

SONG SEUNGHO’s discovery felt more unexpected. “Before debut, I didn’t even know I was someone who could step forward in front of others like this,” he admits. “But as I practiced and talked a lot with the members, I started to notice myself thinking more about how I can show who I really am on stage.” That shift, he says, didn’t come from confidence alone. “Discovering that side of myself has felt new and meaningful.”

There’s a sense, listening to them, that growth hasn’t arrived through dramatic transformation, but through familiarity – through repetition, shared space, and the permission to be seen without explanation. In CLOSE YOUR EYES, self-discovery isn’t something pursued individually. It happens in relation, shaped by the people standing beside you every day.

If identity is shaped in shared rooms and complex routines, it’s tested most clearly on stage – where space, venue scale, and audience volume shifts from night to night. That sense of testing has already arrived for CLOSE YOUR EYES. At the 2025 KGMA, their performance opened with JEON MINWOOK carried in by hooded, masked figures, a moment of withheld identity before motion took over. The response registered almost as quickly as the performance itself, and cuts of other artists watching from the audience circulated widely after the broadcast. Headline performances in Seoul and across Japan have continued to stretch their sense of space – each stage requiring new decisions about movement, pacing, and presence.

JANG YEOJUN believes that performing in different venues begins with reading the room. “For each stage, I think about the unique characteristics of the venue and try to perform in a way that fits that space,” he says. “During rehearsals, I carefully monitor our performance to make sure the overall picture and flow come together.”

SONG SEUNGHO approaches it with a similar awareness, adjusting his body language depending on where he’s standing. “Depending on the size and layout of the venue, I adjust things like my gestures to make them bigger and more visible on larger stages,” he explains. “If there’s an extended or runway stage, I also think about adding movements I can do while walking out toward the audience.”

One particular moment from their growing live portfolio already stands apart for MA JINGXIANG. “One of my most unforgettable moments was standing on the KGMA stage as CLOSE YOUR EYES,” he says. “During Project 7, we performed on the KGMA stage as trainees, and at that time we were performing a competition song, not our own.” Returning to that same space after debut shifted something. “Being able to return to that stage as CLOSE YOUR EYES and meet our CLOSERs there made it a truly unforgettable moment for me.”

SONG SEUNGHO’s memory is anchored in the feeling of alignment after months of preparation. “Since everything was a first for us, every moment feels memorable,” he says, “but the one that stands out most clearly in my mind is the Golden Disc stage.” What mattered most wasn’t the scale. “It was the very first time all seven of us stood together on stage after our group was formed.”

What emerges isn’t a fixed idea of performance, but a flexible one – shaped by attention rather than routine. The choreography may be rehearsed, but presence is not. It’s another example of how CLOSE YOUR EYES operate: responsive, observant, and conscious of how energy travels outward. More than anything, these moments sit in the group’s shared memory – reminders of arrival, and of standing together in spaces that once felt distant.

When asked how they want CLOSE YOUR EYES to be remembered, the answers drift away from achievement and toward emotion – something less visible, but more lasting.

For JEON MINWOOK, that feeling is pride. “I hope the feeling people associate with us is ‘pride,’” he says. “All of our members are running forward with everything we have, and when we look back one day, I want us to feel satisfied, without any regrets.” That hope extends outward. “I also hope that our fans feel proud of us – that thinking about CLOSE YOUR EYES brings them a sense of pride as well.”

KENSHIN’s answer is just as thoughtful. “I want to be remembered for ‘empathy,’” he says. “Even without any special words, I hope people can naturally feel that sense of connection.” For him, his wish for the group is to “quietly reach someone’s heart just by being there, and through the music they hear.”

This is a fitting place to leave the story. Not with promises or predictions, but with feeling: pride, empathy, connection. As they prepare to end their first full year on a high, CLOSE YOUR EYES aren’t defining themselves by how loudly they arrived, but by how deeply they’re felt. In stillness or motion, image or sound, their intention remains the same: to be present, honest, and understood.

This feature is taken from our third printed issue, available for purchase  here.