Most people on the cusp of adulthood can vouch for the contradictory feelings that encapsulate this age. Some are eager to leave their childhood behind. Some end up still feeling like a child in an adult’s body. Others feel the weight of adult pressures bearing down on their shoulders far too heavily already. K-pop group BoyNextDoor address all of these clashing emotions in their latest EP, 19.99, which dropped on September 9. In particular, the MV for the title song “Nice Guy” effectively employs its camerawork — namely quick, jarring transitions and abundant tilted angles — to visually mirror the tumultuous nature of that period of life.
According to member Taesan, 19.99 “explores the emotions experienced just before turning 20.” BoyNextDoor have an average age of 19.5 as of this piece’s publication — and by the Korean age system, which South Korea rendered obsolete in 2023 except in relation to legal smoking and drinking and military conscription, the youngest member Woonhak will turn 20 and become an adult in January 2025. The group alludes to this shift in Woonhak’s life with the EP’s trailer film, released August 13. Here, Woonhak finds a “super laptop” that threatens to reveal all the secrets of the world when it reaches the number 20. The group soon finds themselves running for their lives as others seek possession of the laptop and eventually find themselves trapped as the clock ticks and ticks and ticks until it stops right before 20, at 19:99:99.
In comparison, “Nice Guy” is an interesting (though catchy) title track for an EP centered on becoming an adult, particularly since it begins with seemingly no relation to the age of adulthood. At the start of the MV, the BoyNextDoor members seem to be thriving in part-time jobs at a pizza parlor (and with Woonhak also inexplicably washing dogs as a side hustle in the second verse). The boys seem on their game; leader Jaehyun easily and intuitively ducks to swerve a server with dirty dishes, Leehan offers a thumbs up and Taesan a smile, and Woonhak answers the phone to take orders. However, Sungho’s yearning gaze in the second pre-chorus, as he peers through the pizza parlor’s door toward the outside world, hints that these part-timers dream of something bigger than their current lives.
Suddenly, the world flips and throws Sungho out of the pizza parlor. Now, the camera takes us into the outside world with Taesan — but once the world starts flipping, it does not stop. The second chorus features BoyNextDoor in different places — inside the dog grooming salon, outside the pizza parlor, and outside of a bookstore. While there is still a lack of overt references to aging, the tilting camera angles, while also serving to highlight the track’s point choreography, signal the chaos of the world around them constantly changing. As the chorus comes to a close, Riwoo clings to a fire hydrant as the world tilts so severely that untethered items fly right past all of the members — perhaps speaking to a fear of change and a desire to cling to the way things used to be.
These tumultuous feelings are also supported by the push-and-pull relationship between BoyNextDoor and the person they are trying to woo — presumably the listener. In the upbeat chorus, “you like me, right?” is then followed quickly by “no, no, no,” as if the subject of the boys’ attention is resisting and denying their emotions toward BoyNextDoor. Particularly since love and relationships are often seen as markers of growing up, this push-and-pull mirrors the feeling of being torn between growing up and still remaining a child. Alternatively, the back-and-forth between the boys and the listener could also be seen as the difference between recklessly diving into romance as a teenager and acting with more sensibility and discretion after finally understanding the pain of heartbreak as an adult.
At the bridge of the song, all subtle references to aging become overt. BoyNextDoor are shown dropping through the roof as a couple gets engaged, as kids are playing video Minecraft on a TV, and once more right in front of a baby crib in a couple’s room. The quick succession of these transitions imitates how quickly these moments pass by as people age. The gaping holes in the ceiling as BoyNextDoor crash through floor after floor signify how little people can predict or ready themselves for the chaos of these unpredictable and sudden changes when they happen through each stage of life. This idea appears throughout the entirety of 19.99 as well — especially within the lyrics of the b-side track, “20,” which reference the speed at which our mindset changes from elementary school to high school to the age of 20.
The last verse is rung in with BoyNextDoor dressed in suits at a party with people from each of the different stages of life they encountered throughout the video; at the end of the day, each of these stages of growth should be celebrated. The lyrics in the post-chorus now refer to the “girl” from the chorus as “my girlfriend,” indicating that the rocky romance has been settled, and BoyNextDoor have found more stability. This idea is supported by stable camerawork — there is no more of the quick and severe tilting from the second chorus. Still, the montage closing out the MV returns BoyNextDoor to their part-time jobs, this time overwhelmed with a sky-high pile of dishes, an order ticket longer than a CVS receipt, and a ridiculous number of napkins scattered on the floor. However, in line with the joyful and confident beat of the song, the boys seem enthusiastic and ready to tackle these hardships of their youth before the time passes them by. In this way, the MV ties perfectly back to the core themes of 19.99 around the conflicting and often contrary feelings associated with becoming an adult.
Still, BoyNextDoor would not be BoyNextDoor without a meaningful outro. This outro, featuring Taesan, includes two phrases. “You have no idea what I’m saying” could refer to this tumultuous period of time that is difficult for others to understand. However, the second phrase, “good night, baby,” hints that the listener should just go to sleep without worrying about it. After all, hopefully when they wake up, just like the boys crashing through life’s stages in the span of 25 seconds during the bridge of “Nice Guy,” the chaotic dream-nightmare of the 20s will be over in the blink of an eye.
(Genius [1][2][3][4], Youtube [1][2], AP News. Images via KOZ Entertainment.)
