After five years, beloved SEVENTEEN sub-unit “BooSeokSoon” — “BSS” for short — have made their first comeback since their debut with the release of a three-track single album titled, “Second Wind” on Feb. 6. Like a second wind, BSS’ aim is to bring a sudden burst of energy to the tired masses, seeking joy in the ordinary and minor battles of everyday life.
The trio, composed of SEVENTEEN members Hoshi, DK, and Seungkwan began as a joke, formed in the bright green basement where the SEVENTEEN members were trained, doing gags and skits to fill free time. They were something like a parody group of After School’s iconic, campy sub-unit Orange Caramel, covering “Catallena” as teenagers with awkwardly-dyed fringes and again in 2016 as fresh-faced twenty-somethings garnering a fanbase of their own. Fans took note of the trio’s dynamic, as out of thirteen members, these three were the moodmakers, consistently putting themselves out there to do bits and gags for laughs.
As such, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that their 2018 debut song “Just Do It” was also a joke. It was a skit for SEVENTEEN’s 2018 fanmeeting “Caratland,” a funny act of fanservice that wasn’t intended to ever leave the concert. However, the response from fans were so overwhelmingly positive that the trio released a music video and officially debuted, promoting the guitar-heavy, feel-good track on music shows where they shoot-danced their way into everyone’s hearts.
In the five years since, fans have eagerly anticipated their return, with Seungkwan asking for fans’ love in 2020 and Hoshi and DK declaring that BSS are always ready to come back after being asked about it in a press conference for SEVENTEEN’s 2021 album “Your Choice.” In May 2022, the trio said they were hoping to come back around the end of the year.
And come back they did: they announced the release date of “Second Wind” on Twitter at the beginning of January. They then spent the rest of the month teasing the album with a motion teaser of jello-like feet bouncing on a race track, photos of Hoshi, DK and Seungkwan surrounded by items anyone would hate to step on and a habit tracker-themed highlight medley.
The music video for “Fighting” dropped on Feb. 6, using a musical-like flow to show BSS live out a fake day in sets meant to recreate reality in the same vein as a model home office in a furniture store. The trio are joined by Lee Young Ji, an up-and-coming South Korean entertainer, the winner of the 11th season of hip-hop survival show Show Me The Money, and a friend of SEVENTEEN who filmed a cover of Lizzo’s “Juice” with Seungkwan.
“Fighting” is joyful, built on strong percussion, theatrical bursts of synths and smoothly flowing vocal melodies; it’s high-energy from beginning to end, excluding Young Ji’s verse where the beat changes, becoming sparser to highlight her impactful delivery. As her verse continues, the BSS members re-enter, chanting “Don’t give up” in between her lines. This leads into Hoshi’s piano-backed bridge, continuously building to the explosive final chorus in which the energy and cheer of “Fighting” reaches its peak.
The lyrics don’t pretend to be lofty or poetic. Instead, they speak to mundane, relatable experiences like skipping breakfast for ten more minutes of sleep, envying how cool friends look in their Instagram stories and being surrounded by “earphone-wearing zombies.” The lyrics spin these cliches in order to emphasize that you’re not alone in your everyday struggles: BSS are there to commiserate and cheer you on. They sing, “On a day like any other day / You hear this song start to play / We’ll be there to sing it for you / Gotta keep going, what else can you do?”
There are certainly things one could criticize about “Fighting.” It’s a remnant of a bygone SEVENTEEN era, the bridge teeters between delightful switch-up and dangerously disjunct, the pre-chorus is more shout than song. But, none of that is blatant enough to detract from its effectiveness at accomplishing its primary goal: bringing a bit of joy to everyday life.
Ever since this song has been released, my anxiety about getting run over by an electric scooter between classes has been at an all-time low. It’s a reminder that sometimes you just have to make it through the day, and even that is an accomplishment worthy of self-congratulation.
One thing of note about “Second Wind” is that it is structured to follow the flow of the day. While “Fighting” is for gathering energy during a morning commute, the song “Lunch” is for, well, lunch. It’s funky and fun, allowing Hoshi, DK, and Seungkwan to show off their powerful vocals and sweet falsettos over cheery synths and clinky percussion. The lyrics imagine being able to travel across the multiverse to simply meet someone for lunch.
“Lunch” is followed by “7PM,” which features Norwegian singer-songwriter Peder Elias. “7PM” is the calmest song by far, with its verses backed by acoustic guitar and punctuated with finger snaps; it’s similar to “Lunch” in that it is about enjoying your time with others. In the live stage, BSS and Elias are shown meeting up for a meal and drinks, but the lyrics discuss meeting at Korea’s Han River or going over to someone’s house for karaoke. Like with the rest of the album, there’s a mundane sweetness to the concept, emphasizing the love stored in taking a couple hours to simply be with someone away from the business of life.
“Second Wind” — though only ten minutes long — provides just enough room for BSS to do what they do best: have fun. Each of the songs has its own charm, pulling from similar sounds but still creating moods well-suited for different parts of the day. The album is an excellent start to the year as it emphasizes the small happinesses packed into an ordinary day.
Teresa Pham is an Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at teresaap@uci.edu.
