Enhypen has something sweet brewing for PH Engenes
Jake of the K-pop group Enhypen likes to start his mornings with “something sweet,” usually “a sweet coffee.”
The boy band’s leader, Jungwon, on the other hand, said, “I love donuts as snacks.”
So perhaps it was only fitting … wait, scratch that—“Des7ined”—that the group, Jungwon added, ended up working with Dunkin’ Philippines and joining the brand’s growing roster of celebrity ambassadors.
And like coffee and donuts, Enhypen and Dunkin’ make a good match, because they both share a common denominator.
“One similarity I could say is that Dunkin’ innovates new tastes for its audience and consumers. That’s also one factor we consider when we’re creating our music,” Heeseung said at a media conference, just a few hours before holding court at the Big Dome for the group’s “Des7ined Fun Meet” last Dec. 6.
“Though we’re in different industries, I think those are the factors that make us trendsetters,” he said of Dunkin’ and Enhypen, which is also composed of Jay, Sunghoon, Sunoo and Ni-Ki.
“We hope that we can be remembered as ambassadors who give happiness to the audience and consumers,” Ni-Ki added.
In collaboration with Dunkin’, Enhypen previously released a collection of flasks in seven colors representing the seven members: blue for Jake, green for Heeseung, yellow for Ni-Ki, orange for Jay, lilac for Sunghoon, red for Sunoo, and mint green for Jungwon.
And soon, the fans, fondly called “Engenes,” may just get Enhypen-inspired beverages to go with their flasks. Given the opportunity, Jake said he would love for them to “have a kind of flavored drink specially made [for us]. “I think that will be very nice because we all love to drink.”
If not a coffee beverage, it could be a “fruit smoothie,” suggested Jake, who in fact, had some coffee before doing press work. It probably explained why he seemed perky that day. He was eager to field questions, giddily bringing his mic close to his mouth before the interpreter could translate the questions (probably because he’s fluent in English and doesn’t need translation), or even when it wasn’t his turn to answer.
At one point, we even caught him sharing a laugh—perhaps an inside joke?—with Ni-Ki, playfully nudging each other behind an unsuspecting Heeseung who was seated between them.
Meanwhile, the soft-spoken Sunoo expressed his love for the Choco Bang donuts. And he said it so gently and adorably, too—“Cho-co Bæeng!”—when Lifestyle asked what his favorite flavor was. The room burst into giggles.
Later, a representative for Dunkin’ confirmed with Lifestyle that the company “will come up with a special and exclusive beverage line” in the future.
Repackaged album
But while that’s still brewing, Enhypen turned its attention to its music, specifically, “Romance: Untold- Daydream,” the repackaged version of its second studio album “Romance: Untold.”
Released last November, the new iteration “touches on the same basic concept and continues the storyline” of the original, but comes with two new tracks: “Daydream” and “No Doubt.”
“They both sound like [something] that we haven’t tried before. The styles of both songs are very new to us, so it’s a nice challenge for us as a group,” Jake said. “I believe that, through this album, we’re able to open our vision toward new styles and explore more types of music.”
Enhypen has been to the Philippines a handful of times—thrice this year alone, including its “Fate” concert last February and another fan meeting for a clothing brand last May.
Still, the experience never gets old. “It’s always good to be back here in the Philippines,” Jake said.
“We have been getting a lot of cheers and love from the Engenes from the moment we arrived here,” Jungwon said.
But Enhypen won’t be missing its Filipino fans for too long because the group is already set to return in March 2025 for its “Walk the Line” tour.
Big stages
“We have a lot of big stages prepared in the coming year,” Heeseung said, adding that fans should also watch out for their performance at next year’s Coachella music festival.
As they mark their fourth year in the business, the boys couldn’t be more grateful for the Engenes’ unwavering support—something they hope to carry with them as they step into their fifth year and beyond.
“We have a lot of goals that we set in the previous years, and the Engenes allowed us to achieve those. We have a lot more set in the coming year, and we will do our best to accomplish those—one by one, step by step,” Heeseung said.
“I can’t imagine coming this far and achieving this without our Engenes. And because of our hardworking members, we’re able to to make a great team,” Jungwon added.
Throughout the Q&A session, the boys kept holding up and checking out Dunkin’s new line of tumblers. The shiny and colorful drinkware—“really pretty,” Jake said—look like they would make nice presents this Christmas.
Before leaving, Jake couldn’t resist asking the event’s host: “Can I take this?” he asked, holding up his blue tumbler.
Ni-ki, Heeseung, Jungwon, Sunghoon followed suit. Sunoo and Jay who had already exited tried to retrieve their tumblers but alas, it was too late. They hesitated, maybe a tad shy to be seen scurrying back to the table. Thankfully, they eventually got theirs at the show later that day.
When we posted a clip of that moment on Inquirer Super’s X account, the fans couldn’t help but laugh. “Nakapag-Sharon pa!” one of them pointed out.
