Disclaimer: I have taken some liberties with the exact phrasing of the members' words, but the gist and intent is about 85% accurate.This is your first unit promotion in 6 years. How do you feel about it?As an original member, it evokes some new emotions. Being the first member of the first unit, I feel the responsibility of having to work hard.As for me I'm a new member, so getting used to promoting (so that I could come out in this unit) was occasionally difficult. I feel insufficient and will work even harder.Sojin. That the four of us can come to be a unit, I think it's a special present that the unnies (Sungah, Hyuna) have given to us. We'll work hard and repay with good results.Did you receive lots of help from the members who aren't participating in this unit?Sungah-unnie helped to edit 9MUSES A's jacket image and the proposals for our outfit. And on the day of our first broadcast, Hyuna, Minha, Erine came to our waiting room. It felt like a return to days of before. I was reassured.Though it was difficult, I'm grateful for all the help they gave, emotionally and materially. They didn't miss monitoring a single performance and called and texted us, and because of that we received strength for the stage. I'm thankful.The name "9MUSES A" was thought of by Hyemi and Minha?Minha and I were puzzling over it in a coffee shop. If we were to discard the name "9MUSES", we would lose our unique colour so we were worrying about what word to add after it. "A" is the first letter in the alphabet so it has more impact, doesn't it. So we decided on "9MUSES A" and started looking for a meaning for it. Minha and I went through an English dictionary and found the word "amuse". It fit with 9MUSES, and we thought it had a suitable meaning.Though there have been member changes, it seems that you're still going strong.Everyone's doing well like before. We still chat every single day. On members' birthdays and anniversary days, we eat together too.We can't help but be close, since there's still so much to accomplish. We think that we have to protect each other and have to be strong so that we can overcome difficulties together. And since we don't stay in a dorm, we want to see the members even more.9MUSES A's concept is brighter and fresher than your activities as a whole group.It's a concept I've wanted to do since young. But I've become more aloof (on camera) since my image is a sexy and haughty one, and so this round of activities has been difficult. Since I usually don't smile while looking at the camera.For me, it's more awkward to portray an image with fatal charisma. It's more natural to smile like I'm doing now. I think it's the other members who feel awkward with smiling.I heard that 9MUSES A strongly appealed to the company for this title track "Lip 2 Lip".It's a song by composer Jeong Changwook that he made to match well with us. The fans call him "God Changwook" too. (laughs) "Lip 2 Lip" is a song that we've been saving for a year. The song is lively and matches well with our vocal tone. Our first impression was that it's a good song, and we trusted in that instinct.Since there are many catchy parts, it's addictive. It matches the brightness of 9MUSES A.It seemed like a song that matched the season. "Hurt Locker" was fun too, but the lyrics were a little down. This time, it's bouncy and fun.You haven't had a leader for a while but now Hyemi has become leader.Honestly 'leader' is just a title, and it's because I've been here longer. Even though Kyungri-unnie is older, she listens to me without any objections, and the members also follow what I say very well. The responsibility of leader is a heavy one but I don't feel the burden, so I'm grateful.I'm grateful. I'm friends with Hyemi, and she's been here as an original member all along, so it's great that we can follow her lead easily now that she's leader.When I watch the 9MUSES documentary, Hyemi-unnie was totally a baby. But she's now a reliable unnie and leader. Watching unnie from the side, I feel moved and my heart swells with pride. When I think of what unnie has been through, I think that I have to be a dongsaeng who can follow the leader even better.I was grateful that Hyemi became the leader. It reduced my burden of being the oldest unnie. The dongsaengs follow Hyemi well, and it's really great.As expected, the responsibility that accompanies Kyungri's title of "The face of 9MUSES" is a heavy one.These friends are uncomfortable with appearing on variety. (laugh)It's difficult to appear on variety and we don't do very well, so while Kyungri-unnie guides the team through external things, I take care of internal things and hope to lessen her burden.Mom and dad! I'm the dad and Hyemi's the mom? (laugh) Sometimes I do worry because of my straightforward personality. Because I'm the representative of 9MUSES, I appear on varieties and work hard so that it'll be positive for the group.The other members have also begun their individual activities to lessen the burden on the mom and dad of 9MUSES A.I'll be appearing in the China webdrama "Canvas the Emperor". A mixture of Korea and China idol group members are taking on roles. Filming hasn't started yet and we're in the midst of preparations.I'm participating in the musical "Russian Coffee" with Hyemi. We had a script reading yesterday.Since this is your first time challenging such roles, aren't there any difficulties?There are difficulties with the language. It seems that I have to work harder studying Chinese. I'll also need to practise harder so that I can match my co-actors well.I'm not a musical actress, so there are still many areas in which I'm lacking. I've been worried because I should be practising for the musical every day but there are so many other schedules in addition to music shows. But since it's a genre that I want to do and am working hard for, the days have been passing pretty well.Sojin has transformed into a rapper for this round of activities.I had interest in rap from before. I enjoyed learning rap though the responsibility was heavy. It's my first attempt at this genre, so fans may not be used to it too. Because I wanted to try lyric-writing in the past, I wrote memos stored in my phone. Getting to try rap-making this time was fun.You're famous for being idols who communicate well with fans. How has the fans' reception to 9MUSES A been?We see it every single day. They're really supportive of us. Thanks to them we've been able to do our best on stage. I hope that fans can also gain strength and cheer from seeing us.Last year, you opened your fanclub MINE, 5 years after debut. Your affection towards fans is apparent.It's been a lot of work for this first album. Since we're not doing it as a whole group but as a unit. Though fans are always there with their support, there have been times we felt sorry to them. Because of that, we think that we have to do even better for the sake of our fans.When did you feel the love from your fans?Though it's been so hot recently, they come early in the morning for our pre-recording sessions. Fans are active along with us. Though they can't ride in the car with us, they move when we do and it's even tougher for them. Because of that, I'm grateful. When we were candidates for #1 on SBS MTV The Show, I heard that they streamed our songs on 3 different notebooks and voted a lot for us. Knowing that brought me as much joy as if we had won #1.Kyungri-unnie cried in the car when she heard about it.What do you wish to say to your fans?Though so many young and pretty hoobaes have been coming out, thank you for continuing to like us. (laugh)I hope that even when the day comes that we can no longer be singers, we can still have a relationship as friends. Fans say something like this occasionally - "this is a relationship that I can end myself". Hearing words like that, we feel sadder. This is a relationship we don't want to end, but if fans put it down, in the end we can only let go of this relationship. That's why I hope for a mutual relationship that isn't just one-sided. I want to do better for our fans and protect them, but as the maknae and a new member, I haven't been able to do satisfactorily so far and feel a lot of regret for that. My personality is one that isn't very expressive, and as we spend more time together I hope to show more of what I feel.What are your plans for future activities?First we'll be active with promotions for "Lip 2 Lip", and we also hope to do many other broadcasts and activities in addition to music shows. There are many other things that the members are individually talented at and want to challenge, so we hope to meet fans at individual activities too.Source: http://tenasia.hankyung.com/archives/1003918