We Matched A Romance Trope To Every Song On ENHYPEN’s ROMANCE: UNTOLD

It’s here! ENHYPEN has officially made a comeback with their second full album, ROMANCE: UNTOLD, and we couldn’t be enjoying this new chapter more if we tried. Following the (literal) darkness and intensity of DARK BLOOD and ORANGE BLOOD, ENHYPEN has launched a brand new series, and this time, they’re in their romantic era.

Led by title track ‘XO (Only If You Say Yes),’ the album is a masterclass in coyness and courtship. The group is bringing the boyfriend fantasy back to K-Pop, and we are living for it! So, naturally, the obvious thing to do was pair up each track on the album with a romance trope, right? Check out our picks, and our thoughts on ENHYPEN’s ROMANCE: UNTOLD below!

‘Moonstruck’

Romance trope = Secret relationship

We’re proud enthusiasts of ENHYPEN’s intro tracks, but we definitely can understand why people are especially keen on ‘Moonstruck.’ The harp instrumental instantly time-traveled us back to ‘Given-Taken,’ and the lyrics transported us to ‘Let Me In (20 CUBE),’ too…

“Won’t you let me in? Our secret,” is the first of many times throughout ROMANCE: UNTOLD that ENHYPEN asks for permission. Naturally, we had to pick secret relationship as the trope for this one.

‘XO (Only If You Say Yes)’

Romance trope = Friends-to-lovers

We’ll say it very plainly: ‘XO’ is maybe the catchiest K-Pop title track of the year so far. When we saw the cinematic trailer (still recovering from that, BTW), we didn’t expect ‘XO (Only If You Say Yes)’ to be this bright. At all.

‘XO’ simply had to be friends-to-lovers, as the sparkling pop song is ENHYPEN’s request to take their relationship with ‘you’ (*cough* Chloe *cough*) to the next level.

‘Your Eyes Only’

Romance trope = Childhood-friends-to-lovers

From Kep1er to BIBI to TXT, great things happen when K-Pop idols start talking about sugar. ENHYPEN’s ‘Your Eyes Only,’ complete with lyrics about sugar talk, is no exception! The synth-pop track is so fun and youthful, so it simply had to be childhood-friends-to-lovers. Lyrics like, “Instead of saying I love you, let’s choose our armhole,” instantly conjure up images of children being forced to play nicely and ending up the best of friends.

‘Hundred Broken Hearts’

Romance trope = Exes-to-lovers

The moment we heard the album preview, we knew this would be our favorite ROMANCE: UNTOLD track, and we were right! The Jungwon-penned alt R&B song had us hooked from the very beginning, and we have to talk about how much we love Heeseung’s smooth vocals in this one.

Whilst the overall song is a lover’s declaration of their commitment to a relationship, we had to assign ‘Hundred Broken Hearts’ to one of the more angsty romance tropes out there. The lyrics speak of fighting external forces because you’re meant to be together – “A common breakup flag, the cliché of love, oh, I will transcend everything for you” – could it be any more exes-to-lovers-coded?

‘Brought The Heat Back’

Romance trope = Jealousy

ENHYPEN ‘Brought The Heat Back,’ and brought disco back whilst they were at it, too! Despite how upbeat the track is, the lyrics of this one are fraught with tension. The panicked jealousy is totally at odds with the production, and the contrast is delicious. They literally say, “I’m jealous, and I’m going crazy,” before asking, “Who is that guy who said hello earlier? Why are you smiling at him like that?” We are not going to be chill about this, but clearly, neither is ENHYPEN.

‘Paranormal’

Romance trope = Supernatural AU

So, you could say we kind of got lazy with this pairing, but can you blame us? ENHYPEN literally said “This is our paranormal love,” and “You are my paranormal love,” and who are we to disagree with them? We didn’t entirely expect this rock drum & bass track, but we should’ve been anticipating it ever since MANIFESTO: DAY 1, and it just feels so ENHYPEN.

‘Royalty’

Romance trope = Royal AU

Yes, the “precious” lyric still makes us giggle a little, but ENHYPEN asking to be ‘our’ knight in shining armor has us virtually twirling our hair and kicking our feet too. The bright pop track perfectly matches the earnestness of the lyricism, and lowkey this is Sunoo’s song. Like he just owns it.

Note to self: If they’re not saying, “I will follow you, Your Majesty,” then they’re not worth your time. You could be watching EN-O’CLOCK instead.

‘Highway 1009’

Romance trope = Fate

The temptation to just call this ‘the Y/N song’ and move on is so real, but we’ll restrain ourselves. Much of ENHYPEN’s lore centers around the concept of fate, and their seemingly-limitless world tour was named after it, too. Now, all seven members are viewing their relationships with one another and with their fans through this lens. Every member contributed to the lyrics of ‘Highway 1009,’ and Heeseung produced it as well.

In the special ‘Narr. Ver’ we also get the addition of every member saying “I would not be here without you. Let’s walk together, side by side, for eternity,” in a different language. ICYMI, the list is as follows:
Sunoo – Tagalog
Jungwon – Thai
Sunghoon – Chinese
Jay – Spanish
Heeseung – Korean
Niki – Japanese
Jake – English

Now, what could possibly be more destiny-coded than lyrics like that? ENGENE couldn’t have really asked for a better first fan song from ENHYPEN, and it’s the perfect way to end ROMANCE: UNTOLD, both emotionally and conceptually, too.

Which is your favorite track on ENHYPEN’s ROMANCE: UNTOLD? Did you agree with our romance trope choices? Let us know on Twitter @TheHoneyPOP! And you can find us on Instagram and Facebook!

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