By Hasan Beyaz
To celebrate CLOSE YOUR EYES' comeback with 256th Note, we caught up with each member individually.
CLOSE YOUR EYES wrap up their fourth EP 256th Note with "Eternity" – a lyrical pop ballad built on warm acoustic piano, and lyrics written in collaboration across all seven members while aimed squarely at CLOSER. For SEO KYOUNGBAE, the word itself came first. He says he'd already loved "eternity" long before the song existed, drawn to the hope that a moment, once captured, doesn't have to end. That desire to hold onto small things runs through how he talks about the fandom, too – not through grand gestures but through brief, ordinary exchanges he describes as precious.
It's a theme that stretches into how he sees his own place in the group. With the album's seven tracks mirroring the seven notes of the scale, KYOUNGBAE places himself as the highest one, driven by a pull to keep climbing rather than settle. Where he once felt like he was still finding his footing, he now describes himself as more emotionally attuned, more willing to sit with what a moment actually means before letting it pass.
Get to know SEO KYOUNGBAE in our Meet the Member interview series with CLOSE YOUR EYES below.
"Eternity" closes the album and was written with all seven of you contributing lyrics. What was that writing process like?
SEO KYOUNGBAE I personally love the word “eternity,” and I wrote it hoping that this moment could truly last forever and never come to an end.
The album is framed around capturing tiny, fleeting emotions rather than big obvious ones. What's a small moment from the past year you don't think anyone would guess mattered to you?
If there was a feeling that passed by, I think it would be the moments of communicating. They're small exchanges, but thanks to CLOSER always saying such meaningful things, there have been so many small but precious moments.
The album's seven tracks mirror the seven-note scale, and there are seven of you. If you had to describe your own place in that structure, how would you put it?
I'm like the note “B(Ti).” It's the highest note, and I have a strong desire to climb as high as I can, so that's how I'd put it!
What's something about your personality that has become more visible since debut?
I think I've become a bit more emotionally sensitive. At debut I didn't really know what was what, so I wandered a lot, but now I'm gradually finding my footing and I feel like I understand and empathize with every situation, so my “F” side is kicking in more!