N. Flying reflects the anxious hearts of youth in love with 'Dearest'

South Korean rap-rock band N. Flying dropped its eighth album "Dearest" on Monday and held a media showcase in Seoul ahead of its release.

The band is returning with a new album just over a year since the release of its first full-length repackage album "Turbulence."

"We're happy to be able to have more chances to meet our fans in person and enjoy music together through more music shows and festivals," member Hwe-seung said during Monday's event. "We're thrilled to be back for the first time in a while. We can't wait to unveil the songs we've worked on."

Leading "Dearest" is "I Love You," a song that highlights the excited yet anxious heart of a young person who has just fallen in love.

Rather than softly speaking romantic words, the lyrics sing of the uncontrollable emotions a boy goes through in facing the unfamiliar feeling of love.

The song starts with, "I'm in trouble," the phrase that often hits the head as we take baby steps in a fledgling relationship. The Korean title of the song can be translated to "damned."

"It's N. Flying's proposal song. It conveys the message that 'I'm in big trouble because I like you.' We wanted to show that message through our colors with the word 'Damned,'" the band's leader Seung-hyub, who also wrote the song, said.

Seung-hyub goes by J. DON as a producer and he contributed to the all of the songs on "Dearest."

The band first unveiled the song during a concert held in August.

The album touches on all the good and bad emotions felt during the unstable period of adolescence.

"When we look back on our youth, there's the freshness and beauty in it, but as everything is new, we're also naive and unwise. We wanted to embody all these facets of youth in our own style," Cha Hun said.

The album said contains "The Night," "Firefly, "One (1)," "Monster" and "Shooting Star." According to N. Flying, "Shooting Star," was produced by all the members.

"The song was written together at the song camp we had at my house. Please look forward to it," Seung-hyub said.

About the album's name, "Dearest," Jae-hyun said, "We got the idea from the word 'dear' that we use to start a letter. The album tells the story of the dear heart we hold for someone with cherish."

N. Flying debuted in May 2015 with its first EP "Awesome" as an instrumental K-pop band. Venturing through a variety of genres, from alternative rock to dance, pop, ballad and hip-hop, the band has blown fresh air into the K-pop scene overflowing with dance and hip-hop music.

Now eight years into its career, the band said they still have much room to grow and expand.

"We weren't a perfect band from the start, and I think we can only grow more in the future. I didn't realize that eight years has passed by. I still feel like a rookie," Seung-hyub said.

On how they have come so far as a group, Jae-hyun said, "Performing at festivals and holding live gigs in Korea and abroad, I realized that we try hard because we want to see each and every one of our fans smile. As long as those smiles don't stop, we will not stop playing."

Members Hun and Jae-hyun, who are turning 29 next year, are set to enlist in the military soon. All able-bodied South Korean men under the age of 30 are obligated to serve in the military for around 18 months.

Regarding their enlistment plans, Jae-hyun said, "We aim to enlist and return safely when the time comes. The other members will also try their best wherever they are."

He added, "Our goal is to play as a band until we're 80 years old, and we trust that we will all try hard so that fans don't feel our absence."