“Kiss Kiss”, the first worldwide release by girl group Ladies Code, was a fantastic head rush of k-pop dance that brought the summer of ’14 to dizzying heights. Within a month of its release, two of the group’s members were dead, tragically killed in a car accident that to some was symptomatic of South Korea’s grueling idol industry. Singers train, record and perform around the clock, and sometimes going from A to B can be a rushed endeavor.

Listening to “Kiss Kiss” after was an odd experience, for its very vitality sat at odds with the grim nature of what happened (and, indeed, with the rather morose nature of South Korea and stardom, as to be explored in my forthcoming novel Funereal). May Kwon Ri-se and Go Eun-bi rest in peace, and live on in song.